China’s domestic job market reported that recruitment demand rose by 1.1% year-on-year in the third quarter following the central government's efforts to stabilise employment during the coronavirus pandemic, reports China.org.cn, citing a senior official of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The 1.1% rise is a rebound from the 25.9% decline recorded in the first quarter. Vice-Minister Li Zhong said that even this slight improvement was a hard-fought gain since the nation's economy was severely affected by the domestic coronavirus epidemic. "Thankfully, the economy has been in recovery since people resumed working. Stimulus policies by the government have also given stronger support to companie, the main entities of the market," Zhong said, adding that the government has offered assistance to companies to help ease their hiring pressure. This includes cutting companies’ payments for unemployment, endowment and other work-related insurance for workers. Further, small and medium-sized enterprises were exempted from such payments until the end of this year. The government also lowered standards for returning the companies' unemployment insurance as a reward for endeavoring to keep jobs.