Employers, workers need to bend over job crisis

"Dear Premier Wen," the question ran, "What on earth shall I do?" The questioner was a 2009 college graduate, whose migrant worker parents had struggled to put him through university, but is still mired in a desperate quest for a job.

His worries echo those of millions in China. During a direct online dialogue with Premier Wen Jiabao Saturday, hundreds of thousands of Chinese netizens rushed for answers. Jobs for college graduates, migrant workers and the laid-off urban residents were particularly high on the list.

It's also high on the agenda at this year's National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) sessions, and this time the government seems set to treat the problem seriously.

Wen indicated earlier that employment in China "concerns not only personal livelihood, but also personal dignity."

You need work not only for dignity, but also for everyday survival. Those without jobs in China, like elsewhere, can barely support themselves.

The millions of Chinese living without the dignity of a job, however humble, contrast sharply with the rosy picture of continuous GDP growth and a boom economy.

Despite being called the engine of world economic growth, China had a startling job-related statistics. Over 150 million migrant workers rush to the cities to hunt for jobs every year, layoffs among urban residents have reached 24 million, and the number of college graduates last year was 6.3 million, the highest ever.

"The highest capacity for job creation in one year is 11 million to 12 million, while the average maintains at somewhere around 9 million," Wen said, "but we have as many as 6 million college graduates alone." Finding worthwhile jobs for graduates remains a government headache.

The chief problem is the imbalance between workers' demands and employer's expectations. All three groups, migrant workers, laid-off urban residents and college graduates, have growing expectations for their jobs, while employers expect unreasonably highly skilled workers, but are unwilling to pay accordingly.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises are the current driving force of the economy, but they offer only humble salaries, poor pensions, and hardly any healthcare.