Signs labour market losing some momentum

The equity market has received all the attention recently but evidence that the labour market is coming off the boil arguably matters more to China’s economy. There was a big fall in the ratio of job openings to job seekers in Q2 and slightly fewer new jobs were created in the first half of 2015 than a year before. None of this is evidence of major stress and other indicators remain upbeat – for example, migrant wages are still rising at near 10% y/y. But the leadership is aware that economic changes are often only reflected in labour markets with a lag and it is already responding. Alongside broad policy easing, the government has introduced tax breaks for migrants setting up companies, cheap loans for start-ups, a reduction in employers’ social insurance contributions, and tax incentives and subsidies for some firms hiring workers.