This is one of the highest levels of unemployment acknowledged by the official media. These figures don't include the 130 million rural unemployed who are usually ignored when official statistics were counted. The government already has laid off more than 10 million workers and plans to cut 6 million more jobs in 1999. Retired and laid-off workers frequently stage protests in major cities, sometimes blocking roads and railways, or sitting in at their places of work in protest at their employers' failure to pay them. China does not allow any trade unions or labour organisations other than those sanctioned by the Communist Party.
Media reports from China say that, in recent months, there has been a sharp crackdown on dissent.
Local governments have also been ordered to allot enough money to care for those out of work. Mo urges greater reliance on labour-intensive enterprises, building small businesses and promoting development of smaller cities and towns. It is a case of a carrot and a stick. If you have a right to accept taxpayer support if you are out of a job, then you have a responsibility in return to do whatever you can to get a job.