The Beijing municipal government plans to adopt measures next year to deal with serious employment challenges.

It is predicted that a total of 680,000 new laborers will enter Beijing's labor market, while the capital city will have only 500,000 new jobs available next year.

Song Fengjing, vice-director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security, was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying the government has three major measures to deal with the situation.

"First, all 18 district and county governments will step up efforts to create more jobs next year," he said.

Beijing will make small loans easier to access next year, in an attempt to encourage more people to start their own tiny businesses.

Second, according to the official, rural laborers and unemployed urban people will be offered additional job training.

"Third, labor and social security departments are now drafting a series of policies and services to help laborers from rural areas find jobs," Song said.

Meanwhile, the labor market and the services to accommodate it will be further upgraded next year, according to the official.

"I believe employment work next year will go smoothly," he was quoted by local media as saying.

But problems will still exist.

"With the accelerating economic adjustment in Beijing, more people will be laid off from their original posts," Song said.

"And many of the laid-off workers will find it difficult to find new jobs for lack of professional knowledge and due to age restrictions," he said.

Meanwhile, 60,000 farmers will lose their land and become urban residents next year together with the urbanization in Beijing, according to the official.

Currently, there are some 270,000 rural laborers in Beijing, who are from across the country and have failed to find jobs in the city.

"The municipal bureau of labor and social security will step up efforts next year to solve the problem of employment of the group," Song said.

Local government is predicting the registered unemployment rate in Beijing will be kept within 2.5 percent within this year.

Experts are urging the government to adopt favorable taxation policies for laid-off workers and rural residents to start their own businesses.

Employment of fresh college graduates is also a key attention-getter.

A total of 3.4 million students will graduate from universities throughout the country next year.

(China Daily December 14, 2004)