SHANGHAI'S unemployment rate is decreasing as the city's continuing economic prosperity creates more jobs, and migrant workers are playing a larger role in the local work force.
The findings were released yesterday by the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, which studied the local employment situation by conducting 4,000 interviews over the past five years.
The city's overall unemployment rate declined from 4.9 percent in 2003 to 4.3 percent in 2007, while the number of unemployed registered with the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau decreased from 301,100 in 2003 to 277,800 last year. The city's work rolls have increased each year since 2003, when Shanghai registered the largest proportion of unemployed in its history, according to the report.
Some of those listed as unemployed are engaged in seasonal or flexible jobs such as home services, product sales and survey takers, the report said. The city's labor authorities said 28.2 percent of seasonal workers are registered as unemployed.
Nearly 39 percent of the unemployed are under 35 and about 26 percent have a college degree or above. A lack of work experience is the major obstacle for graduating students.
The job market demands average work experience of at least 1.5 years, and about 40 percent of all job postings require more than two years, the study said.
In other findings, migrant workers comprise one-third of the total employed.
Ninety percent of the migrants work in labor-intensive industries such as infrastructure and home services, which don't require higher education or high skills training.
Only about 70 percent of the migrant workers received insurance from their employer, which could cause problems if they suffered severe injuries on the job, the report said.
The city's labor authorities dealt with more than 3,700 such cases during the survey period and required insurance coverage totaling 57.7 million yuan (US$8.5 million).
"Some migrant workers were told they were on probation and the employer didn't have the duty to buy insurance for them. But that's illegal," said Zhang Lu of the trade union group.
Above half of the migrants work in the service industry, the report said.
"The number of workers in the service industry grew by an average 7.2 percent each year," Zhang said. "The trend indicates that the service industry is gradually growing to be the main body of employment."
SHANGHAI'S unemployment rate is decreasing as the city's continuing economic prosperity creates more jobs, and migrant workers are playing a larger role in the local work force.
The findings were released yesterday by the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, which studied the local employment situation by conducting 4,000 interviews over the past five years.
The city's overall unemployment rate declined from 4.9 percent in 2003 to 4.3 percent in 2007, while the number of unemployed registered with the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau decreased from 301,100 in 2003 to 277,800 last year. The city's work rolls have increased each year since 2003, when Shanghai registered the largest proportion of unemployed in its history, according to the report.
Some of those listed as unemployed are engaged in seasonal or flexible jobs such as home services, product sales and survey takers, the report said. The city's labor authorities said 28.2 percent of seasonal workers are registered as unemployed.
Nearly 39 percent of the unemployed are under 35 and about 26 percent have a college degree or above. A lack of work experience is the major obstacle for graduating students.
The job market demands average work experience of at least 1.5 years, and about 40 percent of all job postings require more than two years, the study said.
In other findings, migrant workers comprise one-third of the total employed.
Ninety percent of the migrants work in labor-intensive industries such as infrastructure and home services, which don't require higher education or high skills training.
Only about 70 percent of the migrant workers received insurance from their employer, which could cause problems if they suffered severe injuries on the job, the report said.
The city's labor authorities dealt with more than 3,700 such cases during the survey period and required insurance coverage totaling 57.7 million yuan (US$8.5 million).
"Some migrant workers were told they were on probation and the employer didn't have the duty to buy insurance for them. But that's illegal," said Zhang Lu of the trade union group.
Above half of the migrants work in the service industry, the report said.
"The number of workers in the service industry grew by an average 7.2 percent each year," Zhang said. "The trend indicates that the service industry is gradually growing to be the main body of employment."
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