Since the outbreak of Covid-19, China has encountered unprecedented pressure in the employment sector. Official statistics showed that in February, the unemployment rate in urban areas reached 6.2 percent, up from 5.3 percent in January, the highest since 2018 when China began to release employment data. Alongside the resumption of production and work, China added 5.64 million urban jobs, accounting for 63 percent of the annual target in the first half of this year, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. China released a package of support measures to stabilize employment such as cutting social insurance contributions paid by enterprises. In late July, the State Council rolled out a guideline to shore up flexible employment through multiple channels. The employment of laid-off workers, college graduates and migrant workers are the top priorities for authorities which have vowed to introduce more tailor-made measures to target these groups.
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