In a massive overhaul of the labor market that began in
February, China has shut down 7,200 illicit job agencies and
ordered them to return 13 million yuan (US$1.57 million) in
collected fees to applicants, a government spokesman said at a news
conference on Tuesday.
"Illegal activities of job agencies have been brought under
effective control. The legitimate rights of workers, especially
rural migrant workers, have been duly protected," said Hu Xiaoyi,
spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
The modus operandi of many of these illicit agencies was
typically to collect "fees" from job seekers, usually migrant
workers, and make off with the money without so much as information
on employment opportunities.
According to Hu, the ministry has organized more than 4,500
recruitment fairs for migrant workers and provided free employment
services to 1.1 million of them.
Hu also announced that China's registered urban unemployment
rate remained unchanged from last year at 4.2 percent in the first
half of this year.
There were 8.34 million jobless people in cities as of the end
of June.
In the first half of the year, 5.95 million job opportunities
were created. This amounted to 66 percent of this year's goal of
creating 9 million new jobs set by Premier Wen
Jiabao in March.
Statistics also show that 2.58 million laid-off workers found
jobs again within six months, approximately half of what was
projected for the year.
Hu said that more effort has been put into improving employment
services and continued training for skilled workers. Hu added that
a training project for technicians has been launched in east China.
The aim of the project is to help workers look for jobs or start
businesses of their own.
The central government allocated an additional 2.6 billion yuan
(US$310 million) to urban employment this year. This is in addition
to funds set aside for laid-off workers from State-owned
enterprises (SOEs), Hu said.
All in all, about 20.9 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) has been
earmarked for social insurance, employment centers, and
re-employment training programs.
Hu said that the coverage of China's major social security
programs as of June -- old-age, medical, maternity and industrial
injury -- reached 168.7 million, 130.3 million, 45.8 million and 73
million people respectively.
That's 5.15 million, 6.29 million, 1.95 million and 4.57 million
respectively more than last year's figures.
Statistics also show that the old-age insurance fund paid
retirees a total of 172 billion yuan (US$20.8 billion) in the first
half of the year and there were no records of delayed payments.
As of June, 24.12 million people or 63.8 percent of the total
number of retirees were being cared for by residential
communities.
Hu added that 104.96 million people were covered by unemployment
insurance as of June, with 4.03 million having made successful
claims on their policies.
"In the next half of the year, we will continue to promote the
reemployment of retrenched workers and steadily transform the
system of basic life insurance for laid-off workers to the system
of unemployment insurance before the end of this year," Hu
said.
Hu listed out the funds set aside for old-age insurance,
unemployment insurance and medical insurance: 221.5 billion yuan
(US$26.69 billion), 14.9 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) and 63.5
billion yuan (US$7.65 billion) respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2005)