Saturday, August 14, 1999
20,000 a month joining
jobless
VIVIEN PIK-KWAN CHAN
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. |
