As I mentioned above, migrant workers are suffering the most from the economic recession. In recent years, more people have chosen to work on flexible schedules. According to our research, two thirds of migrant workers-about 90 million-are seasonal labors, whose employment status is hard to track given the current statistical system. Therefore, their job losses are most likely to be underestimated.

Not many migrant workers are covered under the social security net. Because most of them are hired as temporary workers, employers rarely take responsibility for their unemployment benefits. As a result, migrant workers are confronted with arduous living conditions once employment opportunities are not available for a very long period of time.

The mobility of migrant workers adds pressure to the implantation of the government's job expansion plans. At present, local governments do not include migrant workers in their employment expansion targets. The Central Government should track down migrant workers and make proper deployment of their reemployment.

To achieve a real economic revival with sound job growth, the government should learn from past experiences and minimize the impact of the financial crisis on the job market.

First of all, social security coverage must be broadened. The urban and rural social security system should be unified. International practices have proved that a major economic recession tends to be a crucial time to expand social security coverage and improve security levels.

When coping with the 1997 Asian financial storm, China had in the meantime built up a security system covering urban areas. Considering that migrant workers bear the brunt of unemployment, the government should extend its current urban social security network to rural areas, which would help lay a framework for a future social security system and coordinate urban and rural development.

Second, more breakthroughs are expected to take place in the fields of education, health care and old age protection, which are great concerns of the people. Once citizens are relieved of those burdens, they will be more willing to buy stuff. This will create a win-win scenario stimulating economic development at present and benefiting social security and public service in the long run. Consumption by the low-income group is likely to surge on sound social security. Moreover, if more of the central budget is spent on citizens' education, there will be more expenses and funds that can be redirected to consumption.

Third, public finance is required to shoulder a larger responsibility in supporting social security network expansion. In recent years, the labor market has been standardized, which has in effect added to enterprises' labor costs. Labor-intensive enterprises have since been heavily burdened by excessive labor costs. Judging from the enterprises' deteriorating performance, concerned government departments took a series of actions to help them by postponing their social insurance payments and incremental increases in the minimum wage. Those measures have exerted a positive influence on company performance at a time of economic downturn.

Therefore, if more public finance can be directed to social security, the enterprises' social security expenses will be reduced accordingly. In this way, if the same supportive measures can be maintained for a longer period, the conditions for enterprises will improve, and their expectations, along with investors' expectations, about their future expansion will become more stable. Hence more companies will be able to survive the financial turmoil, offering a healthier source of tax for the government. Boosting employment will ultimately create a scenario that benefits all sides.