China's domestic employment remained stable through the first three quarters of 2025, with authorities announcing continuous efforts to refine professional standards to better regulate the job market and offer clearer career paths, particularly for skilled workers.

The nation created about 10.57 million new jobs in urban areas during the first nine months of this year, reaching roughly 88 percent of the annual target, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced on Wednesday. The ministry attributed the stable growth to robust economic expansion and strong government support for employment.

Recognizing the growth in new jobs and the number of employees in skilled positions, as well as the potential challenges they might encounter in the workplace, the ministry has intensified its efforts to optimize and improve professional standards in recent years. The efforts have been especially focused on newly emerged professions in sectors such as modern manufacturing and the digital economy.

"The human resources ministry together with other central departments have published 328 State-level professional standards during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), and solicited public opinions on 95 new standards," said Zhai Tao, a senior official from the ministry's vocational capacity building department.

He noted that the 95 new professional standards, which include clarifying working requirements for roles such as virtual reality product engineer, completed public opinion collection around mid-August. These standards primarily target technology and modern services sectors, including the digital economy, green economy, elderly nursing and domestic services.

Developing and publishing national professional standards will aid local authorities, schools and employers in conducting high-quality and precise skills training programs, as well as provide workers with clearer and fairer career development opportunities, Zhai said.

"The national professional standards state basic requirements for the workers, allowing them to know what skills they should master," he added. "Also, vocational schools and education institutes can better design their teaching plans by adhering to the standards and improving the quality of their teaching."

He further explained that these standards typically list pay grades and work benefits.

chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn