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SCIO briefing on China's economic performance in April 2020

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CNBC:

I have two questions. The first is about employment. What has the quality of employment been according to the current survey? The second question is about consumer spending. What is the current situation of consumer spending in first-tier cities?

Liu Aihua:

Let me answer your first question. As we mentioned, the surveyed urban unemployment rate shows small monthly changes, 6.2% in February, 5.9% in March, and 6.0% in April. The small fluctuations demonstrate overall stability. However, if we look at more indicators, there is still a large pressure on employment.

First, the scale of employment was lower compared with the same period last year. According to the statistics of the China's human resources and social security authorities, a total of 3.54 million new urban jobs were created in the first four months, a reduction of 1.05 million compared with the same period last year.

Second, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was also higher compared with the same period last year. As mentioned, the figure for April was 6.0%, 1 percentage point higher than in the same period last year, indicating a large pressure on employment.

Third, there is a large pressure on employment for the major labor force. Take migrant workers as an example. We organized a quick survey at the end of April to determine the employment status of migrant workers. From what we learned, the employment of migrant workers improved to a certain extent after a series of measures to promote local employment. The number of migrant workers leaving home to work returned to about 90% of that in the previous year by the end of April, but there is still a gap from the normal level. As for college graduates, 8.74 million will enter the job market this year. So, there is a large pressure on employment for the major labor force.

This year, to show the great importance attached to employment, we put it at the top of the list of aspects to be stabilized and guaranteed. We adopted a series of targeted measures, under which some positive changes have taken place, although there is still a relatively high pressure on employment. Our quick survey showed that the rate of "unemployed on the job" in urban areas fell from 18.3% in March to 3.5%, reflecting an improvement in the quality and level of employment.

Your second question is about consumer spending in first-tier cities. I only have national data here. If you want to look at relevant data for a specific city, please contact the information department of the NBS, and we will provide you with an answer after the press conference. Thank you.