Minister of Labor and Social Security, Tian Chengping, has said that China faces pressure to provide jobs to the more than 100 million surplus rural laborers and that the situation is unlikely to change in the near future.

These comments were made Thursday when he gave a speech at American think-tank Brookings Institute in Washington.

Tian Chengping explained that in the coming years, 24 million people will need jobs in cities and towns. However there will only be 11 million jobs available, including posts made available by retirement. There will be 13 million surplus laborers in urban areas.

He said that in central and western regions and resource-exhausted cities, the pressure is even greater. In rural China there are 497 million laborers, approximately 200 million of which have migrated to towns or cities for work. However, there is still a 100 million surplus labor force.

Tian Chengping says China has made a great effort to create more jobs. Between 1998 and 2005, 19 million workers laid-off by state-owned enterprises were reemployed. At the end of last year, the urban unemployment rate was below 4.2 percent. A total of 36,000 employment agencies have been established.

Tian Chengping also talked about China's efforts to establish a social security system and to guarantee workers' rights. Those who neglect workers' rights can be punished according to law.

By People's Daily Online