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A30 world news
Diabierna 30 aPriL 2021

China says population grew in 2020 after report of decline

Researchers at the Chinese central
bank argued in a report in March that China is on track to be overtaken by
the birth rate is lower than official India before 2025 as the most popu-
estimates suggest, though they didn't lous country.
say total population had declined.
To avert a labor shortage, they said, China still has a bigger workforce,
Beijing needs to make it easier and but India's forecast total of just over
cheaper to raise children. 1 billion in 2035 will be 120 million
more than China, the central bank
"Compared with developed coun- report said. It said India's lead would
tries, the demographic transition swell to 270 million workers by 2050.
happened faster in our country, the
transition period is shorter, and aging China's ruling party is making chang-
problems and sub-replacement fertil- es, but it isn't clear whether they can
ity are severer," the report said. reverse a long-term decline in worker
numbers and strain on an under-
Already, China's population of poten- funded retirement system.
tial workers aged 15 to 59 has shrunk
from its 2011 peak of 925 million, Beijing took its most dramatic step in
according to government data. The 2015 when restrictions that limited
BEIJING (AP) — China's popu- right fall would reduce the flow of Ministry of Human Resources and many couples to one child were eased
lation grew last year, the govern- workers into the economy when it is Social Security said in 2016 that the to allow two. The impact was mod-
ment said Thursday, following a trying to shore up growth and reduce group might shrink to 700 million by est: Many couples with one child had
report that a census might have poverty. 2050. a second, but total births in 2017-18
found a surprise decline, possibly declined because others had none.
adding to downward pressure on "According to our understanding, in China's population rose by 4.7 mil-
economic growth. 2020, China's population continued lion people in 2019 to just above 1.4
to grow," the NBS said on its website. billion, according to government
The National Bureau of Statistics data. That was growth of just 0.3%.
gave no details in its one-sentence China's population has long been
statement and said the population expected to peak and decline in line "If China's population is peaking al-
figure would be reported later. But with trends in South Korea and other ready, that may not change much
the unusual decision to respond to developing Asian economies. But re- about the outlook this decade, but it
the report by The Financial Times re- searchers say China's decline might could have major economic implica-
flected the issue's political sensitivity. start before it reaches their income tions further ahead," Mark Williams,
levels. chief Asia economist for Capital Eco-
The Financial Times said people fa- nomics, said in a report.
miliar with China's 2020 census ex- Developed economies such as Japan
pect it to show the population, which and Germany also are trying to figure The International Monetary Fund
edged above 1.4 billion in 2019, de- out how to support aging populations is forecasting Chinese economic
clined for the first time since famine with shrinking workforces. But they growth of 8.4% this year following a
in 1959-61 killed millions of people. can draw on decades of investment in rebound from the coronavirus pan-
factories, technology and foreign as- demic. The ruling party says it wants
The ruling Communist Party has en- sets, while China has less wealth and to double output per person from
forced birth limits to restrain popula- its industries need young workers. 2020 levels by 2035, which would re-
tion growth since 1980, but an out- quire annual growth of about 4.7%.

German unemployment steady in April despite lockdown

BERLIN (AP) — Unem- according to official fig- in Europe's largest econo- nation of 83 million, 56,000 of salary support programs,
ployment in Germany re- ures Thursday, as pan- my appeared not to dent fewer than in the previous often referred to as furlough
mained steady in April, demic lockdown measures the job market. month but 127,488 more schemes, which allow them
than in April a year ago. to keep employees on their
The unemployment rate re- payrolls while they await bet-
mained unchanged at 6% Pandemic-related unemploy- ter times.
when adjusted for seasonal ment increases in Germany
factors, the Federal Labor and elsewhere in Europe In Germany, the labor agency
Agency said. have been moderate by in- pays at least 60% of the sal-
ternational standards. Em- ary of employees who are on
"Thanks to the spring recov- ployers are making heavy use reduced or zero hours.
ery, the labor market is devel-
oping solidly," agency Chair-
man Detlef Scheele said.

"The ongoing restrictions in
many areas are slowing down
the recovery, but are not lead-
ing to any new strains" on
Germany's job market, he
said.

The unadjusted jobless rate,
the headline figure in Ger-
many, slipped to 6% from
6.2% in March. Some 2.77
million people were regis-
tered as unemployed in the