Gansu adds 430,000 new jobs

Gansu province saw a 19.44 percent increase in employment in 2013, with 430,000 more people employed and an unemployment rate of 2.35 percent, according to experts participating in a teleconference on human resources and social security of Gansu province on Jan 20, Gansu Daily reported.

Over the past year, Gansu province focused on vocational training to stimulate employment and to increase the average income of residents. Around 1.02 million people took part in vocational training programs last year, and 233,900 of the participants received vocational qualifications. And local banks issued microcredit loans worth a total of 5.76 billon yuan ($951.6 million), aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship, which created 220,000 jobs.

Gansu province has adhered to the newly amended Labor Contract Law, encouraging workers to work only with the correct sort of contracts, with the aim of protecting the rights of workers. In addition, the authorities developed a comprehensive payment system for the wages of migrant workers, and the minimum wage standard was raised.

As a result, the employment rate of college graduates in Gansu province reached 88.2 percent in 2013, and disposable income increased by 11 percent.

Edited by Niva Whyman and Le Qin