BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called for more efforts to facilitate the recovery of businesses and to ensure employment.

This year's task of stabilizing employment is very arduous due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, Li said in a written instruction to a teleconference held in Beijing.

Local governments and all sectors should make coordinated efforts to further control the epidemic while boosting economic and social development, and giving more priority to employment, he said.

They should make the best use of policies such as tax breaks and financial support, help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises tide over difficulties, support firms to resume production, and facilitate the construction of major projects, in order to stabilize employment, he said.

More should be done to boost employment of migrant workers, prioritize employment of the disadvantaged groups, step up vocational training and provide assistance to those in areas with serious epidemic situations, while the basic livelihood of the unemployed should be safeguarded, he said.

China will continue to cut red tape, improve government services, give full play to the positive role of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and support the development of the Internet Plus and platform economy, in a bid to provide more opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and flexible employment, Li said.

Vice Premier Hu Chunhua told the conference that unreasonable regulations that hinder the resumption of production should be canceled.

Hu, also chief of the State Council leading group of employment, underscored the role of the unemployment insurance fund in ensuring basic livelihoods for people having problems finding jobs.

Supporting measures should be rolled out in a timely manner to ensure various policies can come into effect as soon as possible to stabilize employment, Hu said.