Almost 2m Chinese coal and steel workers will lose their jobs because of government policies to cut overcapacity, according to the minister of human resources, highlighting looming woes for China’s workforce.
As fears grow over the true extent of the country’s economic slowdown, laid-off workers in traditionally stable sectors are being forced to compete for jobs with about 15m people entering the labour force each year — threatening mass unemployment, strikes and social unrest.
Speaking to the media yesterday, Yin Weimin said 1.3m coal workers and 500,000 steel workers could expect to lose their jobs. The majority are likely to be in state-owned enterprises.