Xu Caihou
Since the reform started in 1997, a large number of workers in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were laid off while government workers retained job security. The reform thus created substantial unemployment risks to SOE workers relative to government workers. Up to this day, government officials, often known as , still have the job security promised under the iron rice bowl, resulting in inefficiency and corruption. According to Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Human Resources and Social Security in 2015 published by Ministry of Human Resources and Social of the People's Republic of China on 30 May 2016, as of the end of 2015, there were 7.167 million government officials in China. Under Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping's administration, there have been major efforts to eliminate corruption within the government. Xi made his intention to purge the system clear on various occasions, and China has witnessed the arrests of high-ranking government officials such as Ling Jihua, Xu Caihou, and Zhou Yongkang.