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The number of laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises amounted to 4.64 million by the end of June, 510,000 fewer than at the end of last year, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Qiu Xiaohua said Monday.
He told a press conference that China's employment improved over the first half of the year. But he said unemployment remainedrelatively high.
NBS statistics showed that the registered number of unemployed persons in urban areas was 7 million by the end of June, about equal to the number at the beginning of the year. He said the unemployment rate in urban areas remained below 4 percent in the period.
The large number of laid-off workers and unemployed persons in urban areas is one of the problems to be addressed in the current economic situation, Qiu said.
Statistics showed that the disposable income of urban residentsgrows to an average of 3,942 yuan (477 US dollars), increasing 17.5 percent over the corresponding period of last year. The growth rate was substantially higher than the 5.5-percent growth during the same period of last year.
Qiu attributed the fast growth of the income of urban residentsto the pay hikes of government employees since last year and the government's efforts to fully and punctually pay subsidies to laid-off workers and pensions to retired workers.
(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2002)
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