New forms of employment — based on the development of the gig economy, platform jobs and flexible work — have grown into important channels for Chinese people to enrich their career options and increase incomes, and the government will step up efforts to improve the workers' rights by optimizing social security programs.

　　On Thursday, the newly unveiled draft government work report said that the nation will draw up policies to support flexible workers and people in new forms of employment such as deliverymen, ride-hailing drivers and livestreamers to get engaged in more inclusive social security programs.

　　Previously, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said that China currently has over 200 million flexible workers.

　　Some experts and recruitment portals have noted that in 2025, both the number of job openings and job seekers in new forms of employment have increased thanks to the development of the digital economy and services industry, apart from the government's supportive policies on promoting employment.

　　Figures from a recent report by recruitment portal Zhaopin and Jinan University in Guangdong province show that the number of job openings in new forms of employment increased by 15.1 percent in 2025, while the number of job seekers in the sector grew by 11 percent.

　　The report classified new forms of employment into two major categories — location-based and cloud-based, with the former undertaking and completing platform orders at certain geopositions, like ride-hailing drivers and food delivery people, and the latter performing online services without location restrictions, such as online consultants and livestreamers.