China Unveils 18-Point Jobs Plan as 12.7 Million Graduates Enter 2026 Labor Market
Updated
Updated · China Daily · Jun 5
China Unveils 18-Point Jobs Plan as 12.7 Million Graduates Enter 2026 Labor Market
2 articles · Updated · China Daily · Jun 5
Summary
An 18-point State Council action plan aims to stabilize employment and lift incomes, with measures to shield hiring from trade wars, geopolitical tensions and other external shocks.
The package extends unemployment-insurance refunds, training subsidies and hiring grants to affected industries, adds monitoring of shock-hit regions and sectors, and uses trade fairs and Belt and Road links to open new markets.
Manufacturing, AI and new industries are central job engines: China will preserve a reasonable share of factory jobs, promote industrial transfers inland, expand "AI Plus" factory upgrades and retrain workers in traditional sectors.
The plan also targets domestic-demand jobs through urban renewal, infrastructure, eldercare, childcare and gig-work protections, while tightening minimum-wage adjustments and oversight of wage arrears and illegal job agencies.
Pressure is rising as China targets more than 12 million new urban jobs in 2026 and expects a record 12.7 million college graduates, prompting state-owned enterprises to raise campus hiring by more than 5 percentage points.