Abstract:The proportion of urban employment is an important indicator to measure the structural differences in employment between urban and rural areas, as well as among different regions in our country. The current study, by analyzing the changes in the urban employment proportion, the difference in urban-rural and regional employment structure, and the factors that affect the urban employment proportion, fi nds that: 1) The proportion of urban employment at the national level has risen steadily, whilst the proportion of urban employment in northern and southern cities has increased simultaneously. The starting gap among Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is not substantially large. The proportion of employment in regions of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao has increased signifi cantly after 2012; 2) The inequality in the proportion of urban employment between provinces across the country is shrinking, being similar to those of the East, Midwest and the Northeast China regions; 3) The increase in the regional GDP, the average salary of urban employees, and the number of urban health technicians per 10,000 people can signifi cantly increase the proportion of urban employment, whilst the increase in the registered unemployment rate in urban areas will signifi cantly reduce the proportion of urban employment. The study claims that the structural imbalance of urban-rural and regional employment should be optimized from aspects of transforming the development mode, developing small and medium-sized cities, and breaking the household registration system.
