Shanghai's unemployment rate hit a three-year low in July.
The Shanghai Municipal Labour and Social Security Bureau said
the unemployed population was 277,000, the lowest since 2002. Many
believe the dwindling trend will continue.
However, the bureau pointed out that finding new jobs is still a
daunting challenge.
Males face a more difficult time finding work than women,
statistics show.
In February, there were 307,000 unemployed. That number had been
reduced by 30,000 by July while the average length of unemployment
was shortened from 15.5 months to 13.3.
Males make up 56.1 percent of the unemployed while the
percentage of newly unemployed men is much larger than that of the
women.
Shen Zuhuan, director of the employment department of the
bureau, explained that because of the booming of the tertiary
industry in the city, the service sector demands more female
workers, so it is easier for women to find jobs.
"Another thing worth mentioning is that most of the unemployed
men are of middle age, low education level and have a single skill,
so they are facing fiercer competition on the labour market," Shen
said.
But Shen also said unemployed men showed a more active attitude
than their female counterparts, and thus the local government will
continue to work hard to help them find new jobs.
The officials of the labour bureau also pointed out that people
above 45 years old take up 36 percent, the largest proportion of
the unemployed population.
Meanwhile, officials from the Shanghai Municipal Education
Commission said the employment rate of new university graduates
matched last year's.
However, the major difference is that some majors which were
previously seen as easy guarantees of employment, such as English,
tourism and management, are now facing a downturn.
(China Daily August 31, 2004)