Quake adds to jobless figures

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-1  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

  EMAIL STORY

  PRINTABLE VIEW

  BLOG STORY

  COPY HEADLINE AND URL

  SHARE

-- Adverstisement --

AT least 372,000 urban residents in southwest China's Sichuan Province lost their jobs because of the May 12 earthquake, Vice Governor of Sichuan Li Chengyun said yesterday.

The figure made the province's number of unemployed urban residents exceed 700,000, said the official. Sichuan has 27 million people living in cities and 60 million living in the rural areas.

The earthquake also deprived 1.15 million farmers of the means of production, he added.

The Sichuan provincial government has helped more than 40,000 people find jobs by holding job fairs, Li said.

A total of 16,289 businesses were damaged in the earthquake, resulting in direct economic losses of 99.78 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion).

The death toll of the earthquake stood at 69,195 by midday yesterday.

related stories

Medical staff arrive to rebuild surgeries

ALL 263 medical staff sent from Shanghai to help rebuild health services in earthquake-hit Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, have arrived in the city, Shanghai Health Bureau said yesterday. A team of 31 health officials...

MORE