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China will strive to drive the economy back onto a normal track
and bring down the jobless rate as soon as possible, Li was
quoted as saying.
"Currently, the implementation of the policy package to
stabilise the economy is accelerating and taking effect. The
economy has recovered on the whole, but the foundation is not
yet solid," Li was quoted as saying.
"The task of stabilising employment remains arduous."
China's economy showed signs of recovery in May after slumping
the previous month as industrial production revived, but
consumption remained weak and underlined the challenge for
policymakers amid the persistent drag from strict COVID-19
curbs.
China's nationwide survey-based jobless rate fell to 5.9% in May
from 6.1% in April, still above the government's 2022 target of
below 5.5%.
In particular, the surveyed jobless rate in 31 major cities
picked up to 6.9%, the highest on record. Some economists expect
employment to worsen before it gets better, with a record number
of graduates entering the workforce in summer.
Li vowed to achieve reasonable economic growth in the second
quarter, although some private-sector economists expect the
economy to shrink in the April-June quarter from a year earlier,
compared with the first quarter's 4.8% growth.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Andrew
Heavens, William Maclean)
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