(Yicai Global) Sept. 28 -- China’s new list of officially recognized occupations has added 97 jobs in the digital economy, according to an official at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Their addition will enhance the social recognition and credibility of digital occupations and become a bellwether for career choices, Wu Liduo, director of the committee of experts that revised the National Occupational Classification Code, said at a press conference today.

He did not specify the 97 occupations that have been added, which make up 6 percent of the total, but did say they such roles are related to the industrialization of digital technology and the digitization of industry, including jobs in digital language expression, digital information transmission, and digital content production.

China’s digital economy was worth CNY45.5 trillion (USD6.4 trillion) at the end of last year, accounting for almost 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to statistics cited by Wu.

The first National Occupational Classification Code came out in 1999 and was revised for the first time in 2015. The latest update was started in April last year and adds 158 new occupations, raising the total number to 1,639.

Editor: Peter Thomas