Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua stressed employment's top priority in ensuring stability on six fronts and maintaining security in six areas, and called for increased employment assistance to urban residents in need.

Hu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his inspection on employment in Southwest China's Chongqing on July 5.

He called for implementing an employment-first policy, and providing more assistance to urban residents with difficulties in employment.

He inspected the human resources markets, residential communities, and vocational colleges to learn about their work in progress on job demands and opportunities on the market, ensuring residents' employment and skills training, and talked with people in charge at recruiting companies, job seekers, community residents and teachers, as well as students on campuses.

Due to the epidemic, this year’s employment situation is very grim, and every endeavor must be made to stabilize and expand employment, ensuring employment and overall social stability, the vice-premier said.

Greater efforts should be made to help urban residents find jobs. Residents are encouraged to seek jobs and start their own businesses, Hu said.

The government will also support employment through multi channels, increase policy support to enterprises in recruiting people in need, and thus ensure the basic livelihood of unemployed people, according to Hu.

It is necessary to strengthen the link of supply and demand in the job market, give full play to the role of human resources service agencies at all levels, carry out online and offline recruitment activities in various forms, create jobs in grass-roots communities, and facilitate people in employment services such as preferential policies, unemployment registration, and job introduction, he added.

Concrete measures should also be taken to enhance professional skills, expand enrollment at technical colleges, launch special training for migrant workers and impoverished laborers, and innovate training methods, achieving a win-win situation in stabilizing employment and skills improvement, Hu said.