As legislators roll up for the "two sessions" - the annual meetings of China's top legislature and political advisory body, a number of key issues are in the spotlight.

According to surveys carried out in the media and on leading Websites, the following eight issues are at the forefront of public attention:

Employment

Despite China's economic boom, more than 84 million urban residents are on the dole. Experts say China needs to create 13 million jobs a year to prevent unemployment from rising.

The government, which has taken more than 100 million people out of poverty since 1986, spent 13.4 million yuan (US$1.7 billion) on poverty alleviation last year. However, the employment situation in rural areas remains difficult, with rural laborers continuing to migrate to cities in search of work.

A staggering 4.95 million students will graduate from institutions of higher learning this summer, 820,000 more than last year. About 1.4 million of them - three out of 10 - are unlikely to find jobs when they graduate.

Social Security

Only a small proportion of Chinese people are covered by the country's social security system.

The vast majority of the rural poor have no social security. Only 13 million needy farmers receive government handouts, a fraction of the 800 million people living in the countryside.

Nearly 22 million urban Chinese subsist on monthly handouts of 169 yuan.

Medicare

A 2006 national survey showed 49 percent of Chinese couldn't afford to see a doctor when they were ill and 30 percent refused to be hospitalized because the cost was too high.

Education

China's nine-year compulsory education system, which is supposed to be free and to cover the whole country, does not yet reach all rural areas. In the cities, parents who want to get their kids into top schools find that they have to fork out extra money.

There is a mismatch between what is being taught in many of the country's educational institutions and newly created job opportunities.

Workplace Safety

While work safety is improving, the situation remains grim and compares badly with other countries. China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, 70 times more dangerous than American coal mines and seven times more dangerous than coal mines in India or Russia.

Income Gap

The income gap is widening. The richest 10 percent of the population now own more than 40 percent of all private assets, while the poorest 10 percent have less than two percent.

Land Exploitation

Nearly 200,000 hectares of rural land are taken from farmers every year for industrial purposes. In some regions, farmland has been given away free to attract foreign investment.

Land use is the subject Chinese farmers most often complain about when they petition government officials.

Environment

Environmental degradation continues to exact a heavy toll. According to the State Environmental Protection Administration, 70 percent of China's rivers and lakes are polluted and more than 300 million people have no access to clean water.