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China reports lower unemployment rate
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-28 16:01 China announced in Beijing Thursday that its urban
registered unemployment rate stood at 4.2 percent by the end of the third
quarter of this year, 0.1 percentage point lower than the 2003 yearend figure.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
at a press briefing Thursday, China had a total of 8.21 million jobless people
in its urban areas by the end of September, 210,000 more than that in the
previous year.
The number of workers laid off from China's State-owned enterprise (SOE)
totaled 1.76 million from January to September, 840,000 down as against last
year, the ministry said.
A total of 1.06 million laid-off workers have signed agreements with
government-sponsored reemployment training centers, which provide the workers
with subsidies to maintain their minimum living standards and cover social
insurance.
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