South China Morning Post - China
Saturday, August 14, 1999
20,000 a month joining jobless
VIVIEN PIK-KWAN CHAN
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The mainland faces mounting unemployment as an additional 20,000 have
been added to the list of jobless each month since January, an
official at the Ministry of Social Security revealed.
"The unemployment situation has worsened as the country continued its
economic restructuring," the official said.
"In the past seven months, we've recorded an additional 20,000 jobless
each month. This rising phenomenon has been consistent throughout the
country," he said.
According to official figures there were 5.7 million urban residents
registered as unemployed.
The mainland's official urban registered jobless rate was 3.1 per cent
at the end of last year, but the official admitted that the actual
rate would be far higher if laid-off workers - those who were sacked
with minimal pay but who had yet to register as jobless - were taken
into account.
The number of workers falling into this category would rise by three
million by the end of this year, the official said.
Unemployment benefits had been extended to cover not only workers from
state firms but also those from private and foreign-funded
enterprises, some of whom had begun to shed jobs.
The unemployment security fund, now averaging 195 yuan (HK$180) each
month, would be increased by 30 per cent on October 1, the official
said.
As the jobless situation worsened, the Labour and Social Security
Ministry had ordered provincial authorities to step up efforts to
collect contributions from enterprises for unemployment funds.
"Some enterprises who are performing well have refused to participate
in the fund and were summoned to provincial leaders for a 'correction
of attitude'," the official said.
He said some provinces, such as Liaoning and Heilongjiang, were
encountering problems in raising enough funds for the jobless.
But in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, they had raised more
funds than needed.
"Shanghai raised 1.5 billion yuan in unemployment security funds in
the first half of this year. Officials there claimed they did not know
how to spend the money," he said.
As a result, Beijing and Shanghai municipal authorities wrote to the
ministry to apply for a lower contribution rate from businesses.
Firms in the two cities were recently allowed to contribute 1.5 per
cent instead of the officially required two per cent of their monthly
wage packet to jobless funds, while each worker could pay 0.5 per cent
instead of one per cent of their monthly wage.
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