The reporter learned from the press conference held by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on January 21 that the overall employment situation in China will be stable in 2024, with 12.56 million new urban jobs added nationwide, and the average urban surveyed unemployment rate for the whole year will be 5.1%. At the same time, social security work has been solidly promoted, with the number of social security card holders reaching 1.389 billion. The personal pension system has been implemented nationwide, and 24.77 million low-income recipients, extremely poor people, people returning to poverty, severely disabled people and other disadvantaged groups have been paid basic pension insurance premiums for urban and rural residents throughout the year. In terms of implementing employment policies, the annual expenditure on employment subsidies is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan. In terms of youth employment support, a new round of employment and entrepreneurship support policies for college graduates and other young people have been introduced, providing job seeking subsidies to over 2 million disadvantaged graduates. Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security held a special action on employment services for college graduates in the national human resources market. Zhang Wenmiao, Director of the Human Resources Mobility Management Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, introduced that this special action organized 251000 employers, provided 4.768 million positions, attracted 2.862 million college graduates and other job seekers to submit resumes, and 585000 people achieved preliminary employment intentions. In terms of guaranteeing other key groups, by the end of 2024, the scale of employment for the poverty-stricken population will reach 33.052 million, and a total of 5.15 million urban unemployed people and 1.63 million disadvantaged people will be assisted in finding new jobs throughout the year. Strengthen the quality of employment services and build "doorstep" employment service stations and gig markets. Continuing to carry out the "10+N" employment service activities, more than 200000 job fairs have been held, providing over 90 million job opportunities. Chen Yongjia, Deputy Director of the Employment Promotion Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, stated that this year we will make every effort to tap into the potential for employment growth. Promote the coordinated efforts of fiscal, monetary, employment, and industrial policies, and implement employment support plans for key areas, key industries, urban and rural grassroots, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Make good use of existing policies, implement policies such as stable employment return, tax incentives, guaranteed loans, and employment subsidies, promote the direct subsidy and fast processing model, and better leverage policy effectiveness. For young groups such as college graduates, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises and social organizations to attract college graduates for employment, establish a system for collecting and publishing grassroots positions in urban and rural areas, carry out a million internship position recruitment plan, and promote graduates to start businesses through multiple channels. Participating in vocational skills training is an important way to enhance employability. In 2024, China will carry out vocational skills training for key employment groups such as migrant workers and college graduates. Subsidized training was conducted for 10.72 million people in the first three quarters, and it is expected to exceed 12 million people throughout the year. In terms of basic capacity building, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, a list of 110 national level high skilled talent training bases and 140 national level skill master studio project units will be announced for record, strengthening the construction of high skilled talent training carriers. Organize and carry out pilot projects for electronic records of lifelong vocational skills training for workers in 15 provinces including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, collecting and recording personal information on vocational skills training such as participation in training and obtaining certificates. Not long ago, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and eight other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Work of Skill Strong Enterprises". The opinions focus on four aspects, including stimulating the enthusiasm of enterprises, supporting enterprises to carry out training and evaluation, improving the treatment of skilled talents in enterprises, and strengthening organizational support. Nine key measures are proposed, including building an ecological chain of production, education, and evaluation skills, supporting enterprises to independently cultivate skilled talents, supporting enterprises to cultivate digital talents, supporting enterprises to independently carry out vocational skill level evaluation, and strengthening the financial guarantee of skill strong enterprises. The opinions also guide enterprises to use vocational skill levels as an important reference for wage distribution, and promote the tilt of wage distribution towards key positions, production lines, and urgently needed skilled talents. Wang Xiaojun, Deputy Director and First level Inspector of the Vocational Capacity Building Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, stated that in 2025, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will focus on key groups such as migrant workers, college graduates who have left school but are not employed, registered unemployed persons, and those facing employment difficulties. It will organize and implement project-based vocational skills training in key areas such as health and care, advanced manufacturing, modern services, and new professions, further enhancing the pertinence and effectiveness of vocational skills training in promoting employment. Starting from December 15, 2024, the personal pension system will be implemented nationwide. Workers who participate in the basic pension insurance for urban employees or urban and rural residents within China can also participate in the personal pension system. The implementation scope of the deferred tax preferential policy for personal pension funds has been simultaneously expanded nationwide. Individuals who contribute to their personal pension fund accounts are subject to a limit of 12000 yuan per year, which is deducted from their comprehensive income or operating income according to the actual amount. Personal income tax is temporarily not levied in the investment process, and individual income tax is paid separately at a rate of 3% when receiving it. Jia Jiang, Deputy Director of the Department of Endowment Insurance of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said that the personal pension system has also optimized product supply, and on the basis of existing data, treasury bond, specific pension savings and index funds have been included in the scope of personal pension products. At the same time, improve the level of management services, encourage and support commercial banks to sell all types of personal pension products, and continuously increase the variety of sales. Improve the conditions and methods for receiving personal pension. In addition to reaching the age for receiving basic pension, completely losing labor ability, settling abroad, and other situations where individuals can receive personal pension, there are additional circumstances for early receipt. Participants who suffer from major illnesses, meet certain conditions for receiving unemployment insurance benefits, or are currently receiving minimum living security benefits can apply for early receipt of personal pension. Next, we will also work closely with relevant departments to study and formulate relevant policies and measures, further enhance the attractiveness of the personal pension system, guide more eligible people to participate, and make elderly life more secure and of higher quality Jia Jiang said. (New Society)