Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 18, 2003
Beijing Offers Jobs to 279,500 in First Half of 2003
A total of 279,500 people were employed in Beijing during the first half of this year, with a net increase of 154,900 new jobs, according to Beijing's bureau of labor and social security.
A total of 279,500 people were employed in Beijing during the first half of this year, with a net increase of 154,900 new jobs, according to Beijing's bureau of labor and social security.
Statistics show that the number of newly registered unemployed during the period declined, with a lower unemployment rate than the same period of last year.
This year Beijing has launched 11 employment-promoting policies,such as offering subsidies to encourage enterprises to absorb laid-off workers.
Of all the job-creating policies, community services have been most successful. By the end of June, Beijing had created a total of 69,200 community services, employing 56,100 people, or 76 percent of the total number of re-employed people.
Meanwhile, Beijing took measures to help 24,500 laid-off workers to find jobs by themselves. The municipal government also gave over 100 million yuan (12 million US dollars) in subsidies to292 enterprises and 48,700 laid-off workers.
To create more job opportunities in the second half of this year, Beijing will put emphasis on developing community service posts like making prepared vegetables, recycling, small supermarket chains, breakfast outlets, and home care of patients in hundreds of thousands of residential compounds in the city, according to the bureau.
The issue of promoting employment and re-employment has been high on the agenda of the Chinese government. Labor authorities across the country have so far set up about 18,000 employment agencies which helped 9.78 million jobless people find jobs in 2002. Over the past five years, an estimated number of 18 million workers who had been laid off were re-employed.