ON MONDAY, the National Bureau of Statistics released data about China's economy in the first half of the year, which shows the urban unemployment rate has been lower than 5 percent for three successive months. Ifeng.com comments:

That data is the lowest since the NBS started surveying labor conditions monthly in 2016, which shows the domestic labor market remains stable.
Employment is one of the most important factors influencing the daily living conditions of a family, and the unemployment rate is related to other data. For instance, the average national disposable personal income grew by 6.6 percent in the first half of the year, higher than the GDP growth rate per person. Low unemployment has obviously played a major role in that process.

With higher incomes, domestic consumption is boosted. The average consumption per person in the first half of the year rose by 6.7 percent, which in turn promotes economic growth.

More importantly, the Chinese economy has already shifted from high-speed growth to high-quality growth. The low unemployment rate means economic growth can be kept within a rational range, which in turn means the country can concentrate more on promoting reform and restructuring. The leadership will also be given more space to implement policies that will better propel high-quality growth.

It can be seen that a series of active employment policies implemented by the government have provided an effective guarantee for promoting the creation of jobs.

But while maintaining stable, healthy economic growth, it is necessary to further propel reform and break the existing barriers that prevent the free flow of labor. Higher and vocational education must be strengthened, as well, so that the domestic labor force has a better education background.

Although the current employment rate is stable, achieving a higher quality work force and fuller employment is still the direction for the government.