(Adds State Council directive in paragraphs 12-14, byline)
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in a surprise visit to a Beijing university, tried reassuring students they would be able to find jobs amid the current global economic woes, and promised more unspecified steps to help the economy.
Rising unemployment has fed Beijing's fears of unrest as forecasts for China's growth next year fall below 8 percent, seen as a minimum needed to create jobs and maintain social stability after years of double-digit expansion.
Students, who lead pro-democracy protests in 1989 which the government brutally put down, are a particular cause for concern.
"Students, please rest at ease, we are putting the problem of graduate employment first," Wen was quoted as saying on Saturday to students at a Beijing university by the semi-official China News Service.
"Your difficulties are my difficulties, and if you are worried then I am more worried than you," Wen added.
Beijing last month began rushing out a $586 billion stimulus package focused on infrastructure projects to boost domestic demand and reduce the economy's dependence on faltering exports. The authorities have also been cutting interest rates and directing banks to give loans to small companies.
"We will continue to take measures, and almost every day we come out with them, to the extent that we are even studying that if current support is not enough then we will do more," Wen said, without elaborating.
The premier appealed for patience for the measures to take effect, the report added, saying they would take some time to kick in.
"But we are most worried about two issues: one is that of migrant workers returning to their villages, and the other is employment for graduates," he added.
MIGRANT WORKER WORRIES
Many migrant workers, who have been the backbone of the cheap labour which has fueled China's export-driven boom, have returned home after being laid off by factories with few orders to fill from traditional markets in the United States and Europe.
Some of these workers have taken to the streets after factories shut without paying them, another area the government is trying to deal with lest the problem get out of hand and lead to more widespread labour unrest.
The State Council, or Cabinet, issued a directive carried in Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily on Sunday asking companies not to allow large scale lay offs, and to solve any labour disputes, especially those over pay, quickly.
"Guide companies to carry out their responsibilities to society, and prevent large-scale lay offs," it said.
"Companies which close or go bankrupt must strictly follow the law, and those owners who maliciously hold back pay or run off will be firmly dealt with," it added.
Wen also said companies must not lay off technical staff or university graduates even if they have financial difficulties.
Urban unemployment has risen to about 9.4 percent, double the official figure, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a report this week.
A quarter of China's 6.1 million college graduates could have trouble finding a job next year, it said.
The weekend edition of the official China Daily quoted the country's top judge as saying maintaining social stability during the current economic crisis should be courts' top priority.
"We will closely monitor issues such as corporate bankruptcies, labour disputes and breaches of contracts, as well as enforcement issues brought about by the financial crisis," Wang Shengjun said. (Editing by Tomasz Janowski)