During the period of the ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000), employment in agriculture declined to such a degree that, for the first time, it accounted for less than 50 percent of the total working force.

According to the State Development Planning Commission, with the quickening of industrialization and readjusting of industrial structure, employment in industry saw a minor increase and employment in the tertiary industry increased very rapidly.

In addition, there was a tendency for people to shift from public and collective units to private businesses and by the end of 1999, and private businesses were employing 39.4 million people.

Thanks to the pro-active financial policy adopted by the central government, the overall employment scale was expanded. By the end of 2000, the registered unemployment rate is expected to stand at less than 3.5 percent.

According to statistics, during the period of the ninth Five-Year Plan, the urban working force pool increased by 19.21 million people and in rural areas it increased by 7.18 million.

By the end of 1999, registered unemployed urban residents amounted to 5.75 million and the registered unemployment rate stood at 3.1 percent.

(People's Daily 09/27/2000)