Brief Introduction

I. Main Contents

Data in this chapter show the basic conditions of China’s labour economy, including main labour statistics on the whole country and 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, such as the economically active population, number of employed persons, number of registered unemployed persons in urban areas, total wage bills and average wages of employed persons and the changes in index.

II. Scope of Statistics

The Reporting Form System on Labour Wage Statistics covers corporate units in all urban area. The scope of survey of The Sample Survey System on Labour Force are the population aged 16 and over of the whole country. The System of Rural Social and Economic Surveys covers all rural areas below township level in China. The Reporting Form System on Training and Employment Statistics covers all agencies and units providing employment services and job centers. The scope of statistics on private enterprises and self-employed individuals covers the whole country. Data on economically active population, employed persons and employed persons by urban and rural areas from 1990 to 2000 are estimated on the basis of the 2000 National Population Census and the annual Sample Survey on Labour Force; and data since 2001 are estimated on the basis of the Sixth National Population Census and the annual Sample Survey on Labour Force. So, sums of these data by region, by type of ownership and by industry do not add up to the totals. The scope of statistics on employed person in urban areas, total wage bills, average wages do not include the persons who had left their working units and while keeping their labour contract/employment relation unchanged since 1998.

In this chapter, urban corporate units refers to urban corporate unit excluding private units.

III. Sources of Data

(1) Data on basic conditions of employment, data by groups, total wage bills of staff and workers are collected and compiled through The Reporting Form System on Labour Wage Statistics, The Sample Survey System on Labour Force, and The System of Rural Social and Economic Surveys by the Department of Population and Employment Statistics, the NBS.

(2) Data on the employment services and the exchanges of labour force and on the number of registered unemployed persons in urban areas are collected through The Reporting Form System on Training and Employment Statistics, which provided by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

(3) Data on the number of employed persons in private enterprises and self-employed individuals are provided by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

IV. Methodology of Survey

A complete reporting form system from lower-level statistical bureaus to higher level statistical bureaus is used in the labour wage statistics. The Sample Survey on Labour Force is conducted by using sampling methods. Statistics on training, employment, private enterprises and self-employed individuals are collected and compiled on basis of administrative registering records.