Private sector fuels employment growth in China's Greater Bay Area
After the Spring Festival, China's job market has seen a lively revival. Private enterprises remain essential in driving the market's expansion.
TroibNews 
China's employment market has seen a robust revival following the Spring Festival, with private enterprises continuing to be instrumental in driving labor market growth.
The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce recently released the "China Private Enterprises Social Responsibility Report," which underscores the pivotal role of private enterprises as a stabilizing force for employment. This report, based on data gathered from 13,885 surveyed private enterprises and various publicly available information from national authorities, offers an in-depth analysis of the social responsibility performance of China's private sector in 2023.
The report reveals that the number of private enterprises in 2023 exceeded 53 million, representing 92.3 percent of all businesses across the nation. These enterprises were responsible for creating over 90 percent of the newly generated urban jobs. Employment in the surveyed private companies reached a total of 5.7 million, reflecting a 9.5 percent rise compared to the previous year.
In Guangdong Province alone, by the end of 2024, the total number of registered private economic entities had reached 18.4 million, accounting for 96.5 percent of all business entities in the province. The local private sector contributed more than 50 percent of Guangdong's GDP, over 60 percent of its trade volume, more than 70 percent of its tax revenues, and over 80 percent of its technological innovation and employment.
On the first working day after the Spring Festival, Guangdong organized a provincial-level meeting to emphasize high-quality development as the top priority for 2025. The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission officially launched a bureau of private economic development to enhance employment initiatives further.
On February 17, Huolala, a leading cargo service enterprise from Guangdong, announced an investment of 35 million yuan during the current national employment season, creating 650,000 flexible job opportunities from February to March. These positions will span various sectors within the company and its subsidiary, Xiaola Travel, including roles for freight drivers, ride-hailing drivers, movers, and delivery riders.
At the launch ceremony for the national employment season event, Huolala co-founder Tan Wenbao stated that the company had implemented 10 protective measures for platform drivers. These measures focus on ensuring fair order allocation, safety, and guaranteed rest, aiming to foster a healthier platform ecosystem and promote stability in the industry.
In Dongguan, a city in central Guangdong often referred to as the "world's factory," statistics indicate that nearly every enterprise resumed operations a week after the official Spring Festival holiday, which concluded on February 4. Following the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, Dongguan's human resources authorities facilitated labor matching efforts across numerous regions, offering over 3,800 job opportunities.
The supply and demand dynamics in the labor market are gradually enhancing in Guangdong. Preliminary statistics from the Guangdong Human Resources and Social Security Department indicated that, from the end of the holiday until February 10, the province's overall job vacancy rate surpassed 1.08. Additionally, Guangdong organized 19 special trains and over 100 chartered buses to transport more than 12,000 workers back to the province.
As development continues in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an increasing number of young people from Hong Kong and Macao are seeking job opportunities on the Chinese mainland.
The private economy in the Greater Bay Area is also significantly optimizing labor resource management. For instance, Huolala has functioned as a "reservoir," absorbing rural migrant labor and providing flexible employment within the logistics sector in the region. Over the past year, the Guangzhou Human Resources Department has coordinated recruitment events at key universities in Hong Kong and Macao SARs, establishing "Greater Bay Area youth employment and entrepreneurship workstations," along with Guangdong's first cross-border labor relations service demonstration center for the Greater Bay Area.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce recently released the "China Private Enterprises Social Responsibility Report," which underscores the pivotal role of private enterprises as a stabilizing force for employment. This report, based on data gathered from 13,885 surveyed private enterprises and various publicly available information from national authorities, offers an in-depth analysis of the social responsibility performance of China's private sector in 2023.
The report reveals that the number of private enterprises in 2023 exceeded 53 million, representing 92.3 percent of all businesses across the nation. These enterprises were responsible for creating over 90 percent of the newly generated urban jobs. Employment in the surveyed private companies reached a total of 5.7 million, reflecting a 9.5 percent rise compared to the previous year.
In Guangdong Province alone, by the end of 2024, the total number of registered private economic entities had reached 18.4 million, accounting for 96.5 percent of all business entities in the province. The local private sector contributed more than 50 percent of Guangdong's GDP, over 60 percent of its trade volume, more than 70 percent of its tax revenues, and over 80 percent of its technological innovation and employment.
On the first working day after the Spring Festival, Guangdong organized a provincial-level meeting to emphasize high-quality development as the top priority for 2025. The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission officially launched a bureau of private economic development to enhance employment initiatives further.
On February 17, Huolala, a leading cargo service enterprise from Guangdong, announced an investment of 35 million yuan during the current national employment season, creating 650,000 flexible job opportunities from February to March. These positions will span various sectors within the company and its subsidiary, Xiaola Travel, including roles for freight drivers, ride-hailing drivers, movers, and delivery riders.
At the launch ceremony for the national employment season event, Huolala co-founder Tan Wenbao stated that the company had implemented 10 protective measures for platform drivers. These measures focus on ensuring fair order allocation, safety, and guaranteed rest, aiming to foster a healthier platform ecosystem and promote stability in the industry.
In Dongguan, a city in central Guangdong often referred to as the "world's factory," statistics indicate that nearly every enterprise resumed operations a week after the official Spring Festival holiday, which concluded on February 4. Following the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, Dongguan's human resources authorities facilitated labor matching efforts across numerous regions, offering over 3,800 job opportunities.
The supply and demand dynamics in the labor market are gradually enhancing in Guangdong. Preliminary statistics from the Guangdong Human Resources and Social Security Department indicated that, from the end of the holiday until February 10, the province's overall job vacancy rate surpassed 1.08. Additionally, Guangdong organized 19 special trains and over 100 chartered buses to transport more than 12,000 workers back to the province.
As development continues in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an increasing number of young people from Hong Kong and Macao are seeking job opportunities on the Chinese mainland.
The private economy in the Greater Bay Area is also significantly optimizing labor resource management. For instance, Huolala has functioned as a "reservoir," absorbing rural migrant labor and providing flexible employment within the logistics sector in the region. Over the past year, the Guangzhou Human Resources Department has coordinated recruitment events at key universities in Hong Kong and Macao SARs, establishing "Greater Bay Area youth employment and entrepreneurship workstations," along with Guangdong's first cross-border labor relations service demonstration center for the Greater Bay Area.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
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