Shandong province has made significant progress in ensuring employment during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020) despite a grim and complex situation at home and abroad.

According to a news conference held by the Information Office of Shandong Provincial Government on Dec 4, the province saw more than 1.1 million new urban jobs added every year between 2016 and 2019, with both registered and surveyed urban unemployment rates kept at relatively low levels.

To date, the total number of new urban jobs created in the 13th Five-Year Plan period has exceeded 6 million, achieving the target of 5.5 million jobs ahead of schedule.

In 2019, the number of people working in the tertiary industry accounted for 37.1 percent of the total workforce, up 1.9 percentage points from the end of 2015.

The proportion of urban employment has also risen, with 51.71 percent of all workers employed in urban areas as of the end of 2019, up 2.6 percentage points from the end of 2015.

Job hunters at a career fair for fresh graduates in Shandong province [Photo/sdjyxww.com]

From 2016 to 2019, the overall employment rate of college graduates in Shandong province remained stable at over 90 percent. The overall employment rate of college graduates this year is basically the same as that of the same period last year.

The total number of rural migrant workers has continued to expand, reaching 23.5 million by the end of 2019, an increase of 250,000 from the end of 2015.

The province has also made great efforts in providing employment assistance to key groups of job-seekers.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Shandong has issued entrepreneurship subsidies of 1.72 billion yuan ($263.16 million) and job development subsidies of 76.98 million yuan, supporting 230,000 people to start businesses.