According to a report published by the National Development and Reform Commission on April 27 China will face serious employment difficulties over the next two quarters with 60 percent of new graduates unable to find work.

The number of graduates will jump by 22 percent over the previous year to reach 4.13 million while the job market can only soak up 1.66 million of them. This is down 22 percent on the previous year.

"It's hard to create new jobs in large numbers due to surplus production capacity, more trade frictions and the revaluation of the yuan, said Zhang Xiaojian, vice minister of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. "As a result it will be less easy to tackle employment pressure." 

According to the report, due to stable economic growth, the first quarter saw a healthy employment situation with a registered urban unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, 2.52 million newly-added urban laborers and 1.03 million laid-off workers back in employment. 

The level of surplus labor this year will reach 14 million which is around one million more than last,  the report states.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2006)