Hard-won job growth

Compared with the lean employment recovery of developed economies, China's faster-than-expected job growth last year may look like the envy of the world.

But to make consumer spending its principal growth engine, the country needs to do more than simply create more jobs to further expand the base of consumers. More importantly, it should create more jobs that pay adequately.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced last week that the country created more than 11 million new urban jobs as a result of the national economy's strong rebound in 2009.