Action ordered on unemployment
The State Council has ordered local officials to take immediate action to solve the country's worsening unemployment problem, with Sars continuing to affect the economy.
The outbreak has led to 'increased uncertainties for the country's economic development and has brought about new difficulties and a negative impact on the employment situation', said a directive issued by the council.
The health crisis has posed new challenges to local officials, who were ordered by the central government at the start of the year to keep the urban unemployment rate below 4.5 per cent.
Although China has budgeted for gross domestic product growth of 7 to 8 per cent this year, officials have admitted this might not be achieved because of the damage the Sars outbreak has inflicted on tourism and the retail sector.
China's GDP growth dropped to 8.9 per cent last month from 9.9 per cent in the first quarter.
The worsening unemployment situation has become a huge problem for the authorities, who fear that social unrest will threaten law and order.
Last year more than 30,000 people took to the streets in Liaoyang, Liaoning province, to demonstrate against corruption and embezzlement of wages and unemployment benefits.
'Governments of all levels should see the promotion of employment as an important duty to maintain social stability,' the directive said.
At the end of March, the official urban jobless rate rose to 4.1 per cent from 4 per cent in the previous three months. The directive said workers should be protected by a social security net, their salaries should be paid on time, and measures such as small loans and tax deductions should be offered to help the unemployed get back on their feet. 'Unemployed workers should be encouraged to start their own businesses, [and] the option of part-time, temporary, seasonal and flexible work should be explored,' it said.
