Abstract: How to better leverage the positive role of economic and social development planning and promote high-quality and full employment in the state-owned economy is an important part of comprehensively deepening reform in the new era. Based on the reality that economic growth targets set by various regions in China are higher than actual growth levels, this paper studies the impact of growth target alignment on the overstaffing burden and employment contribution of state-owned enterprises. It finds that, by setting growth targets in line with the actual growth levels in their own regions, local governments can reduce the burden of redundant staff and improve their employment contribution by regulating administrative improper intervention, improving the efficiency of resource allocation, and guiding the independent operation and development of state-owned enterprises. The heterogeneity test shows that the above effects are more pronounced after the optimization of the performance evaluation criteria for local principal officials in 2013, and are more prominent in state-owned enterprises that are funded and supervised by local governments, make greater tax contributions, and operate in traditional and competitive industries. Additionally, the positive impact of growth targets on the high-quality and full employment of state-owned enterprises requires a solid foundation for reform, a high degree of mixed-ownership reform, and strengthened leadership by the Party. Finally, this paper finds that governments setting growth targets in line with the actual growth level can promote high-quality full employment in local state-owned enterprises, and provides an innovative supplement to academic research on the micro-consequences of economic growth targets and the influencing factors of high-quality full employment of state-owned enterprises.