6.1million jobs created in 1996-2000
Ha Noi, April 18 (VNA) -- Viet Nam generated 6.1 million jobs in the 1996-2000 period.
In 2000, unemployment rate among urban people stood at 6.44 percent, the rate of working hours in rural areas rose to 73.86 percent from 72.11 percent in 1996 and the rate of trained workers increased to 22 percent from 10 percent in 1996.
These achievements were attributable to the renovation policy which opened ways for more investment capital sources for job generation, and to programmes for providing direct support to workhands.
However, working people's life hasn't been much improved due to the country's slow labour structure shift and low quality of the labour force.
The country's total workforce numbered 38.64 million, according to the July 1, 2000 employment survey.
Viet Nam plans to create between 1.3 million and 1.4 million jobs a year from now to 2005.
It intends to reduce urban unemployment to five percent and increase rural working time to 80 percent by 2005.
In 2001, the country will create jobs for 1.4 million people, give job training to 840,000 labourers, export more than 40,000 workers, and reduce the poverty rate under the newly-drawn poverty line to 15 percent (or 300,000 households).--VNA
