Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

While China's job market remains stable at large, efforts to remodel the economy despite lingering growth woes have inevitably put downward pressure on the country's employment outlook.

The country's wobbling export sector has seen some enterprises struggle to remain alive or simply close down, while restructuring moves have apparently shaken its manufacturing arena, particularly the coal and steel sectors, both leading to some layoffs. This is compounded by the entrance of nearly 15 million new graduates from universities and vocational schools into the labor force per year, the majority of whom undoubtedly want to get a job.

According to the monthly official jobless rate announced by the National Bureau of Statistics - which is based on surveys in 31 major cities and is considered more accurate than the other official figure - registered urban unemployment actually notched down 0.02 percentage point to 5.1 percent in April. That might slightly underestimate the jobless landscape, taking into account the problem of hidden unemployment, as some people are not working at full capacity.

Furthermore, in an indication of a hiring headwind, US-based multinational human resources consulting firm ManpowerGroup's latest findings on the mainland market's employment outlook show some discouraging signs. Only 3 percent of surveyed employers expect to increase staffing levels during the third quarter, compared to 8 percent in the second quarter and 10 percent in the first quarter. The net employment outlook - the ratio of employers forecasting an increase in hiring minus that of those expecting a decrease - published by the group also shrank to a mere 2 percent in the third quarter from 5 percent in the second quarter and 7 percent in the first quarter.

But that doesn't mean a dark cloud hangs over the horizon, especially given that the country's burgeoning new economy - powered by a variety of new technologies and innovative applications of the Internet of Things - has created new job openings, albeit not yet enough to offset the job market impact of the economy's painful yet beneficial restructuring.

As the manufacturing industry undergoes a transition that draws power from new technologies, demand for technologically sophisticated positions is on the rise. The country has also encouraged mass entrepreneurship and innovation, helping to relieve the pressure on the job market.

It is especially important to note that the free trade zones, development zones, industrial parks and business incubators that have flourished in the country over the years have also enabled rising numbers of labor force entrants to be absorbed. For example, 18,000 new businesses were launched in the Shanghai free trade zone last year, decidedly adding a lot of job openings.

Apart from the rising numbers of people who have settled in the high-tech and innovation-driven new economy, the country's vast services sector's growing role in the economy also offers more opportunities for laborers who might be laid off amid the manufacturing sector's reshuffle.

The government is apparently aware of the encouraging signs in the job market, with Premier Li Keqiang offering assurances of an overall stable job market in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of this year's Summer Davos. Yet the government remains cautious against any shockwaves triggered by the economy's slowdown and the manufacturing sector's transition and upgrade, appropriating massive funds for the redistribution and occupational training of affected workers and for subsidies to start-ups by new graduates.

Looking ahead to the future, the government will need to direct greater efforts toward not only remaking its economy but also toward rebalancing its job market to ease jobless concerns. After all, it will take quite some time for the economy to sufficiently benefit from reformist drives that are set to take the country to another level, over the course of which a stable yet vibrant job market would be of pivotal importance.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Li Qiaoyi based on an interview with Zhang Jinrong, vice president for the Greater China region at ManpowerGroup, during the just-concluded Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos, in Tianjin. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn