North China's Shanxi Province will invest at least 20 million
yuan (US$2.5 million) a year, from 2006 to 2008, to improve its
employment services, said the provincial labor and social security
department.
An official with the department said the funds will be used to
build a provincial labor market and an information network for
labor markets throughout the province.
The official said the network will reach every township and
community to provide services for job seekers.
The province will enhance consultation service for job hunters
and provide training courses to laid-off workers to help them
prepare for new jobs.
Shanxi has an aggregation of 1.1 million laid-off workers since
1998, and currently 74,000 of them are still jobless.
(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2006)