According to the 21st Century Business Herald, China will formally initiate a survey on unemployment rate during the 12th Five-year Plan Period and make it a major item for control of the national economy.
The report says that both the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security have actually been surveying the unemployment rate for several years, however they have not publicized the results. But this is a good preparation for the formal implementation of the survey in 2011.
It is said that there will not only be a general survey on the unemployment rate of both rural and urban areas, but also independent surveys of both of regions.
Currently, NBS is preparing for a census later this year, which according to a representative from the bureau, is a preparation for the unemployment survey to be conducted next year.
At present, there are four major controlling targets in China: Gross Domestic Product, Price, Employment Goal, and International Balance of Payments. The government's employment targets consist of two parts: the annual increase of the urban employment figure and the registered urban employment figure. Since many people who are unemployed do not go to register, and farmers in the rural areas are not included in the unemployment rate, the published registered unemployment rate is normally lower than that actual one.
It is believed that the unemployment rate survey will be of great significance to the control of the national economic targets.
