李强谈人口负增长：“人口红利”没有消失，发展动力依旧强劲

2023年3月13日上午，十四届全国人大一次会议闭幕后，国务院总理李强在北京人民大会堂出席记者会并回答中外记者提问。

On the morning of March 13, 2023, after the closing of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, Premier Li Qiang attended the press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists.

记者问：网民对于一些热点民生问题高度关注，请问总理，今年我国就业形势依然严峻，政府将采取哪些措施稳就业呢？去年中国出现了多年未有的人口负增长，这是否意味着人口红利即将消失？今年会不会出台延迟退休政策呢？

The reporter asked: Internet users have paid high attention to some hot issues of people's livelihood. I would like to ask the Prime Minister that the employment situation in China this year is still grim. What measures will the government take to stabilize employment? Last year, China experienced a negative population growth that has not occurred for many years. Does this mean that the demographic dividend will soon disappear? Will there be a delayed retirement policy this year?

李强：

Li Qiang:

我很愿意回应网民的关切，一有时间我也会上网，看看网民关注什么，有什么好的意见建议。刚才，你实际上提了三个问题。

I am very willing to respond to the concerns of netizens. I will go online whenever I have time to see what netizens are concerned about and what good suggestions I have. Just now, you actually raised three questions.

第一个问题，就业问题。就业是民生之本，解决就业问题，最根本的一条，还是要靠发展经济。具体工作中，我们将全面落实就业优先战略，进一步加大就业服务、技能培训等方面的政策支持力度，多措并举稳定和扩大就业岗位，支持和规范发展新就业形态。今年高校毕业生预计1158万，从就业看，有一定压力，但从发展看，注入的是蓬勃的活力。我们将进一步拓宽就业渠道，帮助年轻人通过劳动和奋斗，更好地实现自己的人生价值。

The first problem is employment. Employment is the foundation of people's livelihood. The most fundamental way to solve the employment problem is to develop the economy. In specific work, we will fully implement the employment priority strategy, further increase policy support in employment services, skills training and other aspects, take multiple measures to stabilize and expand employment, and support and standardize the development of new forms of employment. This year's college graduates are expected to be 11.58 million. From the perspective of employment, there is some pressure, but from the perspective of development, they are injected with vigorous vitality. We will further expand employment channels and help young people better realize their life value through work and struggle.

第二个问题，人口负增长问题。我国人口增长由正转负，有人担心人口红利会不会就此消失，我看没那么简单。人口红利既要看总量，更要看质量，既要看人口，更要看人才。我国有近9亿劳动力，每年新增劳动力都超过1500万，人力资源丰富仍然是中国的突出优势。更重要的是，我国接受高等教育的人口已超过2.4亿，新增劳动力平均受教育年限达到14年。可以说，我们的“人口红利”没有消失，“人才红利”正在形成，发展动力依旧强劲。当然，我们对人口增减可能带来的问题还要作深入的分析研判，积极应对。

The second problem is negative population growth. China's population growth has changed from positive to negative. Some people worry about whether the population dividend will disappear. I don't think it is that simple. The population dividend depends not only on the total amount, but also on the quality, not only on the population, but also on the talents. China has nearly 900 million labor force, with an annual increase of more than 15 million. The rich human resources are still China's outstanding advantage. More importantly, the number of people receiving higher education in China has exceeded 240 million, and the average number of years of education for the new labor force has reached 14 years. It can be said that our "demographic dividend" has not disappeared, "talent dividend" is taking shape, and the development momentum is still strong. Of course, we need to make in-depth analysis and judgment on the possible problems caused by population increase and decrease, and actively respond to them.

至于延迟退休政策问题，我们将认真研究、充分论证，在适当时候稳妥推出。

As for the issue of deferred retirement policy, we will carefully study and fully demonstrate it and launch it in due course.