Internet employment stable, says NDRC

Source: Xinhua | 2019-01-23

CHINA’S Internet companies have generally stable recruitment and employment, the National Development and Reform Commission revealed yesterday.

The NDRC also announced it had approved 189 fixed-asset investment projects in 2018, and said the nation had exceeded the housing renovation target for rundown urban areas last year.

The conclusion about Internet employment was made after the NDRC conducted research and met with a number of enterprises, spokeswoman Meng Wei said.

The announcement was in response to some media reports.

Official data showed that the number of newly created jobs in urban areas reached 13.61 million last year, 100,000 more than the previous year, surpassing the government’s annual target. The number rose for the sixth year in a row.

China’s surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 4.9 percent in December, 0.1 percentage points lower than that a year earlier.

Meng said the external environment is complex and the economy is facing downward pressure, which might be transmitted to the employment sector to some extent.

China has the tools and confidence to deal with risks and stabilize employment, she added.

Meanwhile, the NDRC approved 189 fixed-asset investment projects in 2018.

The projects were primarily in high-tech, energy, transportation and water conservancy sectors, said Meng.

China’s fixed-asset investment grew 5.9 percent in 2018, 0.5 percentage points faster than that recorded in the first three quarters of last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The fixed-asset investment amounted to 63.56 trillion yuan (US$9.3 trillion) last year, according to the bureau. Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.

And China exceeded the housing renovation target for rundown urban areas last year. Construction began on 6.27 million homes in dilapidated areas in 2018, accounting for 107.4 percent of the annual target, said Meng.

China will launch a new three-year renovation plan to address housing in rundown urban areas, with construction on 5.8 million units to start by the end of 2018.

The country started renovation of 6.09 million homes in shanty towns in 2017, exceeding its target of 6 million.