The coming graduation season has once again brought the employment of college graduates into the spotlight. On June 5, the State Council, the highest state administrative organ, approved the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for the Implementation of the Employment-First Strategy, which marks a clear shift in policy focus, from pursuing employment scale to improving employment quality and promoting the coordinated development of employment and industry, and sets the core objective of high-quality and full employment in the next five years. This change in focus not only precisely addresses the current employment situation, but also pursues a long-term strategy for economic transformation in response to public expectations.

Employment is the foundation of people's wellbeing and economic development. Over the past five years, China has created more than 60 million urban jobs, providing solid support for stable economic and social development. However, as the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins, the employment environment is undergoing profound changes.

Employment pressure remains significant, with particular challenges for the employment of young people. This year, there will be a record high of 12.7 million college graduates, an increase of 480,000 from a year ago. The pressure on job supply continues also due to rural labor migration as part of the urbanization process.

Structural imbalance has become another problem, with the misalignment between supply and demand of human resources intensifying. The transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing industries has led to a surplus of low-skilled labor and, at the same time, there is a huge shortage of skilled workers in sectors such as high-end manufacturing, AI and modern services. Another challenge is the disconnection between college education and market demand, which has led to difficulties for graduates to find jobs and for enterprises to find staff. New forms of employment are growing, but problems such as insufficient protection of the rights of flexible workers and poor job stability are becoming increasingly prominent. Additionally, increased uncertainties in the external environment, weak global economic recovery and adjustments in the trade pattern are having indirect impacts on employment in China.

Against this backdrop, simply pursuing the expansion in employment scale is no longer sufficient. Improving employment quality and strengthening synergy between employment and industry have become essential.

The quality of employment directly affects the income, professional dignity and career development of employees. In the past, to address the overall employment pressure, policies often focused on increasing the number of new jobs through ensuring economic growth and expanding investment, which to some extent led to a tendency to prioritize quantity over quality. This resulted in some jobs having low wages, weak rights protection and poor stability. Therefore, the new plan identifies improving the quality of employment as the core task, aiming to increase the income of workers and strengthen their rights protection.

Employment and industry are mutually reinforcing: Industrial development creates new jobs, while talented employees support industrial upgrading. In the past, employment policies were often passively adapted to industrial development, lacking forward-looking and coordinated planning and leading to a mismatch between industrial upgrading and employment adjustments. The recent plan for the first time elevates the coordinated development of employment and industry to a strategic level, emphasizing that the fundamental solution to the employment problem lies in development and that the government will promote deep integration of industrial and employment policies.

The plan proposes the expansion of employment and career development channels for college graduates and other young people. Enterprises are encouraged to recruit graduates and provide more job opportunities, with the government supporting enterprises that do so by offering social security subsidies and tax reductions. Additionally, college graduates are being supported in starting their own businesses or engaging in flexible employment, with the government offering startup subsidies, low-interest loans and support securing business premises. The government will also promote industry-education integration and college-enterprise cooperation, optimize the offering of college majors, strengthen practical training and improve the employability of graduates.

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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