China Faces Unemployment Woes

Check out this great video - CHAN: The credit crunch could be blamed for the latest unemployment figures in China. They show a very grim future for workers, with a significant rise in jobseekers. STORY: After decades of seemingly solid economic growth China is battling falling demand for products, factory closures, protests and political unrest. Jobseeker numbers rose by 10.2 million in the first 10 months of 2008, exceeding China's official projection for the entire year by two percent. China's minister of social security, Yin Weimin, says unemployment is expected to rise further in 2009, especially affecting small to medium enterprise businesses that have closed down or cut production. Workers in southern and coastal China are left without pay and wait outside closed factory gates. Local authorities say they will pursue bosses who fled, but do not promise government compensation. This comes despite recently adopting a $600 billion dollar economic stimulus package to boost domestic demand, particularly in infrastructure and social projects. China's official urban unemployment rate is still about 4 percent, but could rise to 4.5 percent by the end of the year. But these official figures fail to reflect hundreds of millions of Chinese villagers who go to the cities to seek work. Some local authorities fear there will be an increase in unrest among those who lost their jobs. Large and medium companies are required to cut salaries before firing staff and seek local government approval before laying off ... Let us know your thoughts...

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