CHINA’S trade friction with the United States is creating uncertainty for its job market, the country’s top economic planner said yesterday, but vowed not to let the dispute trigger large-scale unemployment. At a regular briefing, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it would keep the unemployment rate within its target, step up its monitoring of the jobless rate and set up contingency plans to deal with any issues. China aims to maintain its urban survey-based jobless rate within 5.5 percent in 2018, while keeping registered unemployment rate, another official gauge, within 4.5 percent. The country’s urban registered unemployment rate fell to 3.83 percent at end-June, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Monday. The reading marked a multi-year low, according to an official transcript of a press briefing held by the ministry published online. At the end of March, the rate was 3.89 percent, and at end-June 2017 it was 3.95 percent. (SD-Agencies) |