Employment serves as the most fundamental pillar of people's livelihoods. The rapid advancement of cutting-edge technologies is accelerating the transformation and upgrading of various industries, giving rise to a wide array of new job types and novel employment groups, thereby shaping a new landscape for employment development. The "Action Plan for Stabilizing, Expanding, and Enhancing Employment" released this year explicitly calls for "expanding employment opportunities in the consumer sector" and "planning and constructing low-altitude infrastructure, cultivating more new professions and new business forms to accelerate the release of employment potential"—a transformation in employment, driven by technology and supported by policy, is now underway.
The deep integration of digital technology with the real economy has made live-streaming e-commerce a new engine for consumption growth, simultaneously spawning an entire new employment chain encompassing hosts, assistant hosts, operations managers, product selection specialists, and studio controllers, forming a workforce in the millions. By the end of 2024, the number of professional live-streamers (including accounts from institutions and individuals broadcasting full-time) in China reached 38.8 million; the total gross merchandise volume for live-streaming e-commerce nationwide surpassed 5 trillion yuan in 2025.
The practical application of large-scale artificial intelligence models relies on massive amounts of high-quality data and human feedback, making roles like data annotators and AI trainers essential new positions. A composite workforce combining technical skills with industry-specific backgrounds is rapidly expanding. "The deep integration of AI with various industries has given rise to emerging professions such as large model engineers and AI trainers, while also providing efficiency enhancements for mid-to-high-level roles like scientists, lawyers, and clinical doctors, which rely on professional judgment and interpersonal coordination," stated Bao Chunlei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Sciences. This dynamic of "some roles increasing while others decrease, one waning as another waxes" is propelling the employment structure away from traditional repetitive, procedural jobs and accelerating its optimization and upgrade towards intelligence-intensive and skill-intensive positions that meet the demands of high-quality development.
The accelerated implementation of the low-altitude economy, with drones being deployed at scale in scenarios such as agricultural and forestry plant protection, power line inspection, urban logistics, and emergency rescue, has given rise to entirely new technical roles like drone pilots, installation and maintenance technicians, and low-altitude operations and support engineers. "The low-altitude economy is becoming part of everyday life, safeguarding the well-being of countless households. It not only effectively promotes economic and social development but also enhances people's sense of fulfillment, providing 'aerial solutions' to meet public needs," said Zheng Jian, Director-General of the Low-Altitude Economy Development Department at the National Development and Reform Commission.
The penetration of digital technology into county-level regions, coupled with the accelerated integration of culture and tourism and the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, has fostered new professions such as digital restoration specialists for intangible heritage, cultural tourism content planners, and rural live-streaming influencers. A county-level cultural and creative workforce, blending traditional artisanship with digital skills, is growing rapidly. The "Action Plan for Stabilizing, Expanding, and Enhancing Employment" proposes cultivating "small yet beautiful" rural cultural tourism formats, expanding distinctive rural cultural industries, advancing initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of rural tourism, and continuously strengthening the construction of intangible cultural heritage workshops to enhance their capacity for job creation.
As population aging intensifies, the rigid demand for elderly care services is surging, making smart elderly care, rehabilitation nursing, and long-term care focal points of public attention. The "Action Plan for Stabilizing, Expanding, and Enhancing Employment" proposes "researching the establishment of a professional qualification for elderly care service providers to strengthen the guarantee of specialized talent." Data indicates that China's population aged 60 and above exceeds 310 million, of which approximately 44 million are disabled or semi-disabled seniors. However, there are only about 500,000 professional elderly care nurses, creating a practical demand gap in the tens of millions.
Statistics show that China has 84 million workers engaged in new forms of employment, accounting for 21% of the total workforce. The "Action Plan for Stabilizing, Expanding, and Enhancing Employment" proposes formulating the "Measures for Protecting the Rights and Interests of Workers in New Forms of Employment," rolling out the pilot program for occupational injury protection nationwide, and encouraging participation in employee pension insurance. From live-streaming hosts in online studios to AI trainers, and further to caregivers safeguarding the lives of the elderly—new technologies are not merely creating new jobs; they are ushering in an era where "everyone has the potential to excel."
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