The General Office of the State Council issued “Opinions on Adapting to the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technology to Help Construct an Employment-Friendly Development Method”

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 23, the General Office of the State Council issued “Opinions on Adapting to the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technology to Help Build an Employment-Friendly Development Method”. The “Opinion” proposes to strengthen the employment creation effect of artificial intelligence. Expand new artificial intelligence employment opportunities in emerging fields. Deeply implement the “Artificial Intelligence +” campaign, encourage the eastern region to lay out core artificial intelligence industries, guide the central and western regions to undertake upstream and downstream industries such as data labeling and smart terminal manufacturing according to local conditions, and accelerate the formation of new employment growth points in the field of artificial intelligence. Accelerate the cultivation of intelligent native enterprises, specialized and innovative “little giant” enterprises, etc., and include eligible enterprises in the scope of special loan support to help enterprises stabilize and expand jobs in accordance with regulations, and create more new employment opportunities.

The original text is as follows:

The General Office of the State Council on adapting to the development of artificial intelligence technology

Ideas to help build an employment-friendly way of development

China Administration Development [2026] No. 29

The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, all ministries, departments and agencies directly under the State Council:

Employment is the most basic livelihood for people. In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to promote high-quality and full employment, actively adapt to the development of artificial intelligence technology, and help establish an employment-friendly development method, the following opinions are put forward with the approval of the State Council.

I. General Requirements

Adhere to Xi Jinping's ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era as the guide, thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress and the 20th Plenary Session of the Party, adhere to the people-centered idea of development, adhere to the close integration of investment in goods and people, adhere to overall development and safety, adhere to employment priority orientation, use artificial intelligence as an opportunity to adapt to technological development and promote high-quality full employment, with the direction of constructing employment-friendly development methods to actively enhance the positive effects of artificial intelligence in creating employment opportunities, empowering traditional jobs, improving the quality of employment, and stimulating entrepreneurial vitality Artificial intelligence applies employment substitution effects and strives to achieve inclusive development in harmony with technological progress, industrial upgrading, employment promotion, and improvement of people's livelihood.

II. Strengthening the employment creation effect of artificial intelligence

(1) Expand new employment space for artificial intelligence in emerging fields. Deeply implement the “Artificial Intelligence +” campaign, encourage the eastern region to lay out core artificial intelligence industries, guide the central and western regions to undertake upstream and downstream industries such as data labeling and smart terminal manufacturing according to local conditions, and accelerate the formation of new employment growth points in the field of artificial intelligence. Accelerate the cultivation of intelligent native enterprises, specialized and innovative “little giant” enterprises, etc., and include eligible enterprises in the scope of special loan support to help enterprises stabilize and expand jobs in accordance with regulations, and create more new employment opportunities.

(2) Cultivate new momentum for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to stabilize jobs and expand jobs. Implement an artificial intelligence SME entrepreneurship support plan to promote SME innovation and entrepreneurship through an open source ecosystem. Strengthen the supply of public services for digital transformation, encourage the development of “small, quick and easy” digital products and solutions, ensure that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses use intelligent production factors such as data and algorithms equally in accordance with the law, support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to explore low-cost, lightweight intelligent upgrade paths, further lower the threshold for artificial intelligence application, and enhance their ability to absorb employment.

(3) Create a new model of employment and entrepreneurship in the field of artificial intelligence. Give full play to the role of government investment funds such as the National Venture Capital Guidance Fund and the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund to support the innovation and development of enterprises in the field of artificial intelligence according to market-based methods. Build a high-level artificial intelligence open source community, deploy and implement a number of high-quality open source projects, and form an entrepreneurship-driven employment effect. Implement the “scientific and technological achievement+entrepreneurship”, “industrial development+entrepreneurship”, “vocational skills+entrepreneurship”, and “people's livelihood needs+entrepreneurship” models, implement entrepreneurship support policies and provide entrepreneurship incubation services around entrepreneurial projects such as artificial intelligence application scenario innovation and technological achievement transformation.

(4) Accelerate the development of new occupations in the field of artificial intelligence. Focusing on the cultivation and large-scale application of artificial intelligence scenarios, accelerate the development of new occupations, release new professional standards, and expand the demand for new occupations and types of jobs such as digital managers, artificial intelligence engineers and technicians, and artificial intelligence trainers. Local authorities are encouraged to add relevant job title review majors in line with the development needs of the artificial intelligence industry, and promptly carry out artificial intelligence-related vocational skill rating certification.

3. Build an employment-friendly artificial intelligence upgrade path

(5) Tap into the employment potential of artificial intelligence in traditional fields. Give full play to the role of artificial intelligence in helping the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, guide the better implementation of human-robot collaboration models in the intelligent development of all elements of industry and the digital transformation and upgrading of agriculture, and explore digital and intelligent employment opportunities in traditional fields. Accelerate the construction of new service methods driven by artificial intelligence, promote the extension of the productive service industry to specialization and the upper end of the value chain by sector, promote the high-quality, diversified and convenient development of the lifestyle service industry, expand new service consumption scenarios such as experiential consumption and personalized consumption, and expand the employment capacity of the service industry.

(6) Mitigating the impact of artificial intelligence applications on employment substitution. Give full play to the role of artificial intelligence in improving the employment environment, raising the level of occupational safety, and improving work quality and efficiency, and prioritize the promotion and application of artificial intelligence in jobs where labor is scarce and the environment is at high risk. Cautiously grasp the scope, intensity, and pace of artificial intelligence applications in labor-intensive industries to minimize the impact on workers. Encourage enterprises to explore the establishment of an unemployment buffer period system, inform affected workers in advance in the large-scale promotion and application of artificial intelligence, and provide support for transition to employment.

(7) Establish an employment risk assessment mechanism for artificial intelligence applications. The impact of artificial intelligence applications on employment is comprehensively assessed, and innovative resources are skewed towards areas with high potential for employment creation. For artificial intelligence application scenario projects in the field of market entry that may have a major impact on employment, employment risk assessments are carried out simultaneously during the review, and relevant departments should coordinate the work to support job transfer and employment transformation. For artificial intelligence application scenario projects in other fields, employment risk assessments are carried out in conjunction with actual practice.

IV. Improving workers' digital literacy and employability

(8) Collaborate to cultivate innovative artificial intelligence talents. General colleges and vocational schools (including technical colleges) are encouraged to speed up the dynamic optimization of majors, lay out urgently needed majors in the field of artificial intelligence in an unconventional manner, strengthen the construction of relevant interdisciplinary majors, increase the distribution of artificial intelligence “micro-majors”, implement complex talent training programs, and cultivate more complex artificial intelligence talents. Strengthen joint school-enterprise training, and support leading science and technology enterprises to participate in curriculum development, teacher training, upgrading teaching facilities, etc. Firmly promote artificial intelligence education throughout the school, promote the practice of students entering enterprises and enterprise engineers to enter schools to teach, and cultivate students' exploratory and creative thinking ability.

(9) Implement a special training plan for artificial intelligence. Deeply implement the “Skills Illuminate the Future” training campaign. When developing project-based and order-based digital technology skills training, local authorities should keep abreast of market needs in the field of artificial intelligence and encourage university graduates and other young people, migrant workers, and the unemployed to participate in employment and entrepreneurship training programs in the field of artificial intelligence. Local authorities are encouraged to rely on public training bases, enterprise training bases, training bases for highly skilled personnel, etc., to actively carry out skills training related to artificial intelligence. Promote general education on artificial intelligence for the whole society, and launch more public service courses based on the national smart education public service platform, an online learning platform for skilled workers in industry and information technology, and an online platform for continuing education. Encourage active development of artificial intelligence-related skill contests in existing vocational skills contests.

5. Promoting artificial intelligence to empower high-quality employment policy services

(10) Using artificial intelligence to help implement employment policies. Explore the establishment of an intelligent identification mechanism for policy implementation, analyze the characteristics of service clients, intelligently promote employment policies, and improve the quality and efficiency of “policy finding people”. Strengthen the application of artificial intelligence in employment policy evaluation, fund management, publicity, interpretation, and consultation.

(11) Raise the level of intelligence in employment services. Upgrade and improve the national employment information resource database, the national college student employment service platform, and the “China Employment” public service platform to strengthen data collection, intelligent analysis, and accurate services. Promote the construction of a national artificial intelligence application pilot base, coordinate existing resources to explore the intelligent upgrading of grass-roots public employment service networks, and deepen the application of artificial intelligence in fields such as labor and personnel dispute mediation and arbitration. Promote artificial intelligence to empower human resources services, and encourage business entities to innovate and optimize new products and models such as large models for job search and recruitment, intelligent interviews, and virtual reality training.

(12) Increase support for job transfer and employment transformation. According to regulations, provide employment assistance to eligible workers affected by the application of artificial intelligence for employment substitution, and provide targeted vocational guidance, skills training, job recommendations, and entrepreneurship support. According to regulations, the relevant insured unemployed persons are promptly paid the full amount of unemployment insurance benefits.

6. Improve workers' rights protection systems and social security systems

(13) Optimize workers' rights protection systems adapted to human-robot collaboration. Strengthen research on the protection of workers' basic rights and interests on new characteristics of social division of labor, such as human-robot collaboration, improve workers' rights and interests negotiation and coordination mechanisms, and urge enterprises to guarantee workers' legal rights and interests such as labor remuneration, rest and vacation, and labor safety and health protection in accordance with the law. Regulate the application of artificial intelligence in the field of human resources management, and control illegal acts such as employment discrimination, false recruitment, and infringement of the right to privacy and the right to rest due to the misuse of algorithms, etc., according to law.

(14) Improve social security systems for workers with flexible employment and new forms of employment. Adapt to the development of artificial intelligence technology, enhance the flexibility and inclusiveness of social security systems, encourage and support flexible workers, people with new forms of employment, etc. to participate in basic pension insurance for urban workers, and expand pilot occupational injury protection projects for people with new forms of employment. Actively make good use of the development dividends of artificial intelligence to better protect employment and improve people's livelihood.

(15) Improve revenue distribution mechanisms adapted to the development of artificial intelligence technology. Guide enterprises to establish and improve remuneration distribution systems that meet the characteristics of workers in the field of artificial intelligence, improve wage distribution incentive mechanisms for high-level talents oriented to increasing intellectual value, and implement reference guidelines for minimum wage classification for skilled talents. Cultivate and develop innovative work forms such as intelligent agents, encourage enterprises to increase investment in public welfare artificial intelligence technology, services and open source communities, help workers expand the boundaries of their abilities, enhance labor value, and promote more workers to actively participate in and benefit from technological progress.

7. Improve employment monitoring, early warning and risk response systems for artificial intelligence applications

(16) Strengthen employment risk monitoring and early warning of artificial intelligence applications. Strengthen the sharing of data on industries and employment related to artificial intelligence across departments, and jointly build intelligent monitoring and analysis models for regional and industrial employment data. Strengthen the application of artificial intelligence to pre-investigate and predict employment risks, and improve the sensitivity of employment risk monitoring and early warning.

(17) Strengthen research on the impact of artificial intelligence applications on employment. Conduct a special survey on the employment impact of artificial intelligence applications to continuously track the penetration of artificial intelligence applications, job creation and substitution, and changes in skill requirements. Relying on existing resources such as universities and scientific research institutions, a number of artificial intelligence employment research centers have been set up. Implement scientific research projects such as the National Social Science Foundation to proactively study the impact of the development of artificial intelligence technology on employment and income distribution.

(18) Improve employment risk response mechanisms for artificial intelligence applications. Include the employment risk of artificial intelligence applications in the scope of large-scale unemployment risk prevention and mitigation mechanisms, and formulate risk response plans in an integrated manner. Strengthen joint response to labor relationship risks related to artificial intelligence, and do a good job of risk consultation, investigation, and treatment.

8. Strengthen organizational implementation

Insist on implementing the Party's leadership into all aspects of the process of adapting to the development of artificial intelligence technology and promoting employment and entrepreneurship. All relevant departments in all regions should implement this opinion in line with actual practice, further strengthen priority employment policy guidelines, consider the impact of artificial intelligence applications on employment in an integrated manner, and speed up the construction of employment-friendly development methods. Human resources and social security, development and reform departments at all levels should strengthen coordination, promote the implementation and effectiveness of various policies and measures, strengthen publicity and guidance, and create a favorable social atmosphere conducive to promoting employment and entrepreneurship. Request instructions and reports on important matters to the Party Central Committee and the State Council in accordance with the procedures in a timely manner.

General Office of the State Council

October 16, 2026

This article was selected from “China Government Network”, Zhitong Finance Editor: Feng Qiuyi.