China recognizes 11 new occupations as new industries create fresh roles

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday officially recognized 11 new occupations and 23 new specialties under existing occupations, reflecting evolving labor demand driven by technological advances, industrial upgrading and shifting consumer needs.

A robot is displayed at the exhibition area of the 2025 Global Industrial Internet Conference in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, Sept 6, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)

The new occupations, released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other government departments, include shore-based ship management engineering technicians, embodied intelligence robot technicians and sports data analysts.

Authorities also revised information concerning six existing occupations or specialties, including agricultural product brokers.

The recognition of the new occupations and specialties will help promote employment and entrepreneurship, offer workers more diverse career paths and better match talent supply with job demand.

Five of the newly recognized occupations are classified as digital occupations and three as green occupations, bringing the respective totals in China to 113 and 142.

A ministry official said China is expected to face a sizable shortage of workers with digital skills for some time, adding that the recognition of the new occupations would spur training and open up broad employment prospects.

The latest additions also highlight the continued expansion of modern services.

Some of these new occupations focus on business development and industrial upgrading, including corporate sustainability planners, airport obstacle-clearance inspectors, and artificial intelligence (AI) agent developers. Others respond more directly to people's demand for higher-quality services, including incense-making artisans, smart furniture assembly and commissioning workers, and fresh-cut flower processing workers.

More modern service occupations are expected to emerge amid the increasing specialization and upgrading of producer services and improvements in the quality, diversity and convenience of consumer services, the official said.

New specialties under existing occupations include community workers, low-altitude logistics operators and age-friendly renovation designers.

Since 2019, China has released eight batches of 121 new occupations.

Of these new occupations, 60 percent were service-related, while professional and technical occupations and manufacturing-related occupations each accounted for 17 percent.

By industry, 43 percent of the new occupations were in modern services, while 34 percent were in advanced manufacturing.

The ministry said it will formulate national standards for the new occupations to guide vocational education, skills training and talent assessment.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, China aims to explore new employment space in the digital economy, green economy and silver economy.