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China’s unemployment rate climbs

China’s urban registered unemployment rate jumped for the first time in five years to 4.2 percent as of Dec 31, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Tuesday.

The jobless rate, which excludes migrant workers and farmers, was 4 percent in the first three quarters of 2008, Yin Chengji, the ministry’s spokesman, said.

China has raised its unemployment target to 4.6 percent this year, which would be the worst since 1980, as worsening global financial crisis takes its toll on the country’s export-led economy, Yin said.

During the fourth quarter of last year, the number of registered jobless urbanites jumped to 8.86 million, 560,000 more than that in the third quarter.

However, the ministry maintained that the current unemployment situation in the country was “better than expected” and was confident to bring it under control this year.

“We are fully prepared for this year’s grim job market outlook despite the global financial crisis,” Yin said.

“The situation will get stable if the country’s economy rebounds in the second half of this year and the job stimulus package works well.”

The ministry said it aims to create jobs for 9 million new urban laborers, 5 million laid-off workers, and 1 million people, who are facing difficulties finding work, this year.

“Improving the employment situation is our top priority and everything we do is aimed at achieving the goal,” he said.

More than 10 million migrant workers lost their jobs in the third quarter of 2008, after falling demand overseas forced the closure of around 670,000 factories, especially in the coastal regions, the ministry said in an earlier report.

The ministry warned again that fresh university graduates are bound to face a hard time securing jobs, with some 7.1 million entering the job market this year.

Since last year, the central government has implemented a series of economic and job stimulus measures to boost domestic demand and create more jobs.

But experts have warned that there is pressure mounting on the job market owing to the economic downturn, and “labor officials should be cautious and alert”.

“The current employment situation is very severe,” Chen Guangjin, an expert on employment issues with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said.

“The market cannot meet the increasing demand as lots of firms have closed down. If the government pours more investment in the labor-intensive sector, the situation can get better.”

China’s urban jobless rate rises, situation ‘grim’

by Xinhua writers Wang Xiuqiong, Wu Qiong, Chen Yinan

BEIJING, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) — China reported Tuesday a higher jobless rate among urbanites for 2008 as the global financial crisis builds up unemployment pressure in the world’s fastest growing economy.

China’s urban unemployment rate was 4.2 percent at the end of 2008, up 0.2 percentage points year on year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) said Tuesday.

As of Dec. 31, there were 8.86 million urban residents registered as jobless, 560,000 more than the end of the third quarter, ministry spokesman Yin Chengji told a press conference.

Yin said 11.13 million urban jobs were created last year, 11 percent above the government target.

The slight rise in the jobless rate reflected a slowing economy amid the global financial crisis, said Tang Min, deputy secretary of the China Development Research Foundation.

“The figure looks all right, but the real situation could be much more serious, as migrant workers and newly graduated college students were not included in the government count,” said Tang.

Yuan Gangming of the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University described the rate as a “sudden rise.” He said the 2008 figure was a reversal of the recent years’ declines.

The urban jobless rate fell for five consecutive years, from a high of 4.3 percent in 2003 to 4 percent in 2007. It stayed at 4 percent in the first three quarters of 2008.

“The 4.2 percent rate was already a sharp increase, given that widespread job cuts only surfaced in the second half of last year,” Yuan said.

He agreed that the unemployment situation was grimmer than shown by the latest figure, also noting that migrant workers were not included in the count.

Yin said the employment situation was “generally under control and better than we expected”, but would still be grim this year as the global financial crisis would continue to affect the Chinese economy.

Yuan estimated that the urban unemployment figure could worsen in the first half of this year.

Tang echoed his view, saying the employment pressure would continue to build up this year as the world economy was not expected to recover until the end of 2009, which was the most optimistic expectation.

GLOBAL CRISIS WOES

Yin attributed the higher jobless rate in the fourth quarter to the economic slowdown, saying the influence of the global financial crisis was “obvious”.

“Some producers have experienced difficulties since the fourth quarter and shed some jobs,” he said.

Weakening foreign demand has dealt a heavy blow to Chinese exporters and dragged down the economic engine since the second half of last year.

Exports fell 2.8 percent year on year to 111.16 billion U.S. dollars in December, an acceleration from the decline of 2.2 percent in November.

China aims to keep its registered jobless rate below 4.6 percent and create 9 million new urban jobs this year, up 0.1 percentage points and down 1 million respectively from last year’s targets.

The government lowered the expectation for this year after considering the economic impact of the global financial crisis, said Yin, adding that he believed the goal can be achieved.

China had reacted in an “active and powerful” way to the employment impact of the global financial crisis, said Yin.

Local governments have stepped up monitoring job markets and offered free or subsidized training, among other steps, to avert large-scale job losses.

“As China’s economy regains momentum, the employment environment will gradually improve and the general situation will be basically stable,” he said.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 9 percent annually in the third quarter of 2008, compared with 10.1 percent in the second quarter and 10.6 in the first quarter.

Yin estimated an increase of 1 percentage point in economic growth could create 1 million jobs.

Yuan urged for more supportive policies for small- and mid-sized enterprises, which can create more jobs than big enterprises.

“The current stimulus package is more effective in boosting industrial production than in promoting employment,” said Yuan. “There should be more favors such as easier credit for small companies.”

China announced a 4 trillion-yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars) fiscal stimulus package in November to increase domestic demand and sustain growth.

The government should help cornered exporters expand domestic markets and fully tap the potential of the service sector, which can soak up a much larger labor force if it is better regulated and encouraged, said Tang.

CONCERN OVER MIGRANT WORKERS

A majority of the victims of job cuts were migrant workers, most of them in the eastern and southern coastal regions, said Yin.

China has seen an increasing number of farmers leaving the countryside for better-paid jobs in coastal industrial belts in the past decades. The migrant workers were registered as rural residents.

More than 10 million, or 10 percent of a total of 130 million migrant workers, had returned to their rural homes jobless, Yu Faming, an employment official of the MOHRSS told a forum late in December, citing investigation results.

Yin said more migrant workers had returned to the countryside for the Spring Festival this year than before but specific figures were yet to be counted.

The global financial crisis was a significant reason behind the larger number of rural returnees, he said.

The MOHRSS had been collecting information on the rural returnees in ten provinces and cities. The investigation showed the general picture was “within our anticipation”, Yin said.

Apart from migrant workers, the government will also focus on jobs for college graduates this year, said Yin.

There will be 7.1 million college graduates seeking vacancies this year, including 1 million of those having failed to secure jobs last year, he said.

The government will encourage them to find work in small- and mid-sized companies, private businesses and in the less developed mid-west, said Yin.

New aid measures set for jobless workers

Amid waves of job losses worldwide, China has embarked on measures to minimize them and pledged to boost employment this year.

The financial crisis continues to hurt the fourth largest economy and has pushed many enterprises to make layoffs.

The following provinces are among many in the country, East China in particular, that have striven to stabilize their job markets.

Yangtze River Delta

Yangtze River Delta, a manufacturing center, was hit exceptionally hard. Unemployment in the manufacturing sector stood at 41.43 percent of the total in Zhejiang province in the third quarter, a record low in recent years.

The same situation occurred with manufacturers in eastern Jiangsu province with unemployment in the sector accounting for 50.15 percent of the total, down 0.94 percentage point over the same period last year, and down 4.16 percentage point from the second quarter.

To cushion the blow, the Yangtze Delta has set up an early warning system to monitor the job situation. At present, six cities including Nanjing, Hangzhou and Ningbo are the trial areas.

The system is designed for regional labor and social security offices to collect employment information, such as possible job cuts and plans for new employees in the following week and the actual cuts.

Zhejiang province will do this in 11 cities this year.

At the end of November, Zhejiang also cut back enterprises’ payments of social security funds for employees to mitigate the businesses’ burden.

Another focus for most cities in the region is to encourage people to start businesses. Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces pledge to provide favorable incentives, including free job training for laid-off workers.

Officials and experts said the region expects a tougher job picture in the first quarter of this year as the global financial turmoil continues to spread.

Shanghai has launched programs to provide graduates and migrant workers with subsidies for skill training. On Dec 30, the first employment service base was set up in Shanghai for graduates to gain internship experiences.

The Shanghai municipal government also encouraged business start-ups to increase jobs. The city pledged to limit the registered unemployment rate to below 4.5 percent.

Across the nation

The eastern Fujian province has rolled out plans to help graduates from poor families who have difficulty in finding jobs. A service center for human resources in Fujian, and Fujian University of Technology have decided to jointly spend 120,000 yuan to aid the graduates. The university has signed with more than 30 companies to establish internship base.

The provincial government will also conduct check-ups on enterprises that intend to apply for 20 job cuts in 2009.

Jiangxi province is set to provide migrant workers with free vocational training. As of Jan. 1, 26,000 migrant workers were reemployed or started their own businesses.

The provinces of Gansu, Anhui, Hebei, Jilin and many others have adopted measures on unemployment, including training programs and loan expansion.

Provinces are set to roll out their own stimulus measures in 2009, to create more jobs.

Zhejiang province plans to inject 60 billion yuan in transportation infrastructure construction in 2009. It’s estimated that every 100 million yuan investment in highways would create 1,800 direct jobs and 2,100 indirect jobs, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. That was only part of the stimulus measures in the region. Jiangxi province will invest 600 billion yuan into fixed assets such as highways, railways, airports and water projects, which will bring about one million jobs.

Investment will hit 1.2 trillion yuan in agriculture, transport, energy and urban construction in Henan province. Jiang Duyun, director of the provincial department of education, said the measures would “definitely” be beneficial for graduates majoring in such fields.

Fujian province will spend 170 billion yuan on manufacturing industries, and the western Gansu province plans 16.5 billion yuan for transport facilities and infrastructure.

Those are only part of the whole stimulus plans carried out by provinces in 2009.

“The governments are doing what they should do and these measures will prop up employment in the long run”, said Wang Dewen, a labor economist from China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

He added China now was going through industrial restructuring with new and more advanced enterprises emerging, which would demand employees with specialized skills and knowledge.

“Migrant workers are the worst hit groups and vocational training will be necessary to equip them with skills and knowledge which would qualify them for better jobs”, Wang said.

According to a December report from CASS, the registered unemployment rate was estimated at 10 percent.

“With this series of measures kicking in, the job situation would be easier than expected in the second half of this year”, Wang said.

The central government kicked off a stimulus package of 4 trillion yuan in last November to buoy economic growth, which, analysts agreed, would boost employment. Part of the investment had been earmarked before the package was rushed out.

Yang Yansui, a specialist in labor law and the director of the employment and Social Security Center of Tsinghua University, said the country’s 4-trillion-yuan stimulus plan would create only temporary jobs. More investment should go to the public service sector, which would bring long-term and sustainable jobs.

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin said on Dec 29 that China vowed to create 9 million new jobs in urban districts this year, 1 million fewer than last year’s target. The registered urban unemployment rate will be kept under 4.6 percent.

The Chinese urban unemployment rate from 2003 to 2007 was lower than 4.3 percent, but the target for 2008 was set at 4.5 percent because of the severe employment situation.

Yu Faming, director of MHRSS employment promotion department, said the oversupply of labor would be more severe this year with 24 million people seeking jobs, mainly including 13 million new urban jobseekers and 8 million laid-off workers.

Workers abroad must be ‘better protected’

The government should take steps to better protect Chinese workers abroad, especially because their number could increase to more than 1 million in the next few years, experts said yesterday.

The experts were responding to reports that 23 Chinese working on a construction site in Saudi Arabia had been deported for protesting against poor pay. They were among the 200 Chinese workers who went on strike to demand better pay.

Many Chinese working overseas have had to weather problems such as kidnappings, attacks, frauds and economic disputes.

About 794,000 Chinese workers were hired to work overseas at end of November 2008 -51,000 more than the previous year – according to Ministry of Commerce figures.

But Lu Jinyong, professor of overseas investment at the University of International Business and Economics, said the actual figure could be much higher.

“The official figure comprises workers who have registered with the government before going abroad. It doesn’t include workers who have left without registration,” he said.

So “it’s quite likely that the actual figure has crossed 1 million”. And that number will continue to rise sharply, thanks to globalization, he said.

Across the world, about 30 million workers earn their livelihood away from their countries or regions. Bangladesh contributes about 2 million and the Philippines more than 1 million to that number. “Compared with them, the number of Chinese workers has a huge potential to grow,” Lu said. And so will be dangers facing them.

The government shouldn’t try to deal with the problem by tightening measures to curb labor export. “Instead, it should try to analyze Chinese workers’ experiences and take steps to better protect them,” he said.

The government has promulgated a special law on labor export, and the ministries of foreign affairs and commerce deal jointly with overseas incidents.

“Chinese embassies have done a very good job,” he said, but local authorities should inform workers about the laws of the land they are headed to and how to put across their demands in the best possible way.

Xiao Lian, senior world economy scholar with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he saw workers from home “trapped” by their Chinese agencies when he was in Africa recently to attend a meeting. Such agencies are actually “human traffickers”.

“Some local governments have granted permission to unscrupulous agents to handle labor export. So it’s hard to tell who should shoulder the responsibility in case a dispute arises.”

“This is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. The Saudi Arabian case once again proves it,” he said.

Xiao suggested Chinese working overseas seek the help of the law to settle any dispute.

Materials Manager (mn199js)

Title: Materials Manager (Manufacturing)

Our client is a leading provider of custom cable assemblies and wire harnesses, headquartered in US.

Location: Jiangsu (close to Shanghai)

Duties:

1 Supports and gains consensus for the organization’s mission, vision and values.
2 Executes business processes, drives accountability, collaboration and respect.
3 Oversees all facets of material management.
4 Oversee purchasing and inventory control.
5 Supports planning and forecasting of customer orders.
6 Oversee warehouse and shipping.
7 Oversee receiving and material handling.
8 Purchasing and inventory control functions.
9 Provide support to production scheduling on all material flow issues.
10 Establish material purchasing procedures and standards.
11 Develop supplier/vendor qualification program.
12 Oversee purchasing and inventory control.
13 Supports planning and forecasting of customer orders.

Requirements:

1 College Degree-BA or business related field
2 Working Experience ISO and TL 9000 knowledge.
3 Experience in global purchasing/supply chain.
4 Experience in cost/inventory reduction/management
5 5-7 yrs. experience in the manufacturing field and a key managerial position in cable/fiber manufacturing
6 5+ Years of Western Mfg. experience
7 Professional Skills and Competency/Training/ Certificate
8 Must have proven track record in process improvement and cost reduction
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_mn199js@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

General Manager (eo156js)

Title: General Manager (Manufacturing)

Our client is a leading provider of custom cable assemblies and wire harnesses, headquartered in US.

Location: Jiangsu (close to Shanghai)

Main Responsibilities:
1. Direct and lead all Plant associates in a manner to meet product quality, productivity, and cost objectives and goals.
2. Support and fully utilize 6 sigma and Lean Manufacturing throughout the plant.
3. Support and implement where needed company policies and programs to maintain a contented and productive workforce.
4. Insure continuous cost and quality improvements.
5. Support the company quality process and system to help insure quality objectives are met.
6. Select, hire and assist in training of all plant professionals.
7. Ensure a safe, ethical workplace free of discrimination.
8. Generate and submit various documents, excellent track record of developing customer
relationships form the operating role reports and other communications to provide the company with day-to-day knowledge of plant progress and concerns.
9. Experience in managing a supply chain, support the process required to meet and generate an operating budget for the plant, adjusting inventories (finished goods, spare parts & raw materials).
10. Be responsible for managing and developing sales teams;
11. Plan and implement capacity additions and deletions in regard to equipment, people, and supplies to meet plant requirements short and long term.
12. To carry out other tasks as required by Management from time to time

Key Requirements

1. Minimum BS Degree in related field or equivalent experience.
2. Minimum 10 years experience in manufacturing
3. Operating knowledge of 6 sigma and Lean Manufacturing
5. Must possess excellent interpersonal and coaching skills
6. Must possess excellent English communication skills (oral & written)
7. Must have excellent leadership skills and drive for performance
8. Initiative & the ability to work under pressure
9. Ability to follow through & complete tasks in a timely manner
11. Engineering degree prefer electrical engineering
12. Sound negotiation & communication skills with ability to communicate at all levels
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_eng092nj@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

Senior Sourcing Engineer (eng092nj)

Job Title: Senior Sourcing Engineer
Location: Nanjing
Job Description:
Company introduction: The client is an European company, which has become the world leader in automotive and machine tool markets during past 50 years, by offering its customers a combination of advanced products, market knowledge, and commitment to long term global partnerships. Building on these foundations, it has created an international organization able to deliver application, design, and service support virtually anywhere in the world. Its growth has been characterized by a strong commitment to research and development and close cooperation with customers in the automotive, machine tool, appliance, compressor, bearing, electric motors, aerospace, computer, and other industries. For the quick development in China, they are now looking for the talents to join them.
Responsibilities:
1. Outsourcing the suitable supplier & monitor current suppliers according to the quality requirement of the company
2. Responsibility on the quantity, quality, and price of procurement
3. Reduce the cost and maximize the delivery efficiency
4. Localize the components, the products and/or equipment
5. Study the manufacturing processes and move the production from HQ
6. Other job issued by supervisor
Qualifications:
1. B.E. in Mechanical Engineering or relevant
2. At least 5~6 years in industrial field of international company
3. Minimum 4 year Sourcing/Purchasing experience in manufacturing/ machining process environment
4. Good oral and written English
5. Experiences in localizing the products and/or production
6. Flexibility, creativity, aggressive attitude to work in team, good communication skills
7. Be able to work independently
8. Ability to carry out several tasks at the same time
9. Be familiar with machining process and heat treatment is a plus
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_eng092nj@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

Treasury Manager (fi199sh)

Job Title: Treasury Manager
Location: Shanghai China

Our client is a leading global pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical Device outsourcing company. It mainly provides clients laboratory and manufacturing services to help them shorten the time and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D. Their mother company is a New York Stock Exchange listed company. Because of their business expansion, they are looking for talents to join them.

Responsibilities
1. Assist treasury director to manage and control cash flow of each BU
2. Provide cash flow analysis and make recommendations on funding arrangement.
3. Contact HQ relationship banks in China for service and operation improvements.
4. Implement cash management, including cash pooling, hedging, FX deal and excess cash short term investment;
5. Assist treasury director in insurance management and communication with subsidiaries under European financing structure.

Requirements:
1. University graduate preferable with professional accounting qualification or equivalent
2. Accounting or finance?
3. CET 4 above and can communicate in English both in written and oral
4. Familiar with excel, powerpoint and word?
5. At least 3 years of relevant experience
6. CPA/CFA preferred but not a must
7. Experience with insurance, F/X and tax
8. Solid accounting knowledge and good business acumen
9. Self-motivated, Able to work efficiently without close supervision
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_fi199sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

Projects Controller (fi198sh)

Job Title: Projects Controller
Report To: Finance Controller
Location: Shanghai
Our client is a world leader in AFC (Automatic Fare Collection) systems for public transport. It successfully completed many metro projects for numerous cities around the world. With the fast development of metro industry in China, Asia and many other countries, our client will reinforce their entity in R&D, program management and other operational positions.
Job Description:
Responsibilities:
1 Analyze, evaluate the cost (technology) for the projects and provide budget or offer to clients.
2 Responsible for the risk calculation & control of the projects;
3 Follow up the cost condition of projects; provide the necessary supporting to project review (forecast and suggestion).
4 Take part in preparing the cost control rule and follow up the enforce status.
5 Carry out financial reviews, ensuring submitted forecasts are in-line with the business environment and in compliant with Group reporting requirements
6 Verify that Business Plans prepared by operating companies deliver on the strategy.
7 Oversee licensing, royalty and other such agreements and monitoring rights and obligations.
8 Ensure operating companies are in compliant with local tax requirements including the most tax efficient structures and operating procedures.
9 Implement Competency framework and Back to Basics processes to all the Finance Departments
10 Lead in financial planning to maximize cash returns r and improve the company’s working capital management.
11 Other works assigned by GM or DGM.
Requirements
1 B.Sc. Finance, accounting, economic or equivalent.
2 5+ years working experience in cost management and risk control in Manufacturing or Software company
3 CPA or ACCA qualification ;
4 Good knowledge of procurement, manufacturing and logistic
5 Good ability of communication. Good English Level
6 Good ability of using Excel and PPT to analyze and evaluate figures
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_fi198sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

China’s disabled see mixed job fortunes in 2008

About 331,000 disabled Chinese in the urban areas found jobs in 2008, bringing the total to 4.67 million, but the number employed in rural areas saw a marked drop, statistics from the China Disabled Persons’ Federation show.

The number of employed disabled people in rural areas fell by almost 930,000 to 16.04 million in 2008, said Wang Xinxian, secretary of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Wang was addressing a national work conference in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, Monday. Wang did not explain the contrast at the conference.

With the help of government and non-governmental programs, 6,193 disabled applicants were admitted into colleges and universities last year, and 675,000 received job training, federation figures showed.

Almost 102,000 homes of poverty-stricken disabled people in rural areas were renovated last year and about 3.17 million disabled people came under social insurance programs that included pension schemes, medical, unemployment and industrial accident insurance, the figures showed.

Wang said the priority this year was to speed up the building of social security and service systems for the disabled, especially for those in rural areas.

The federation would endeavor to improve education and living standards for China’s 83 million disabled, who account for 6.34 percent of total population.

The federation jointly launched a three-year project with the Ministry of Science and Technology on Monday to invest 150 million yuan ($21.94 million) to develop technologies and products that may facilitate information access for the disabled.