China plans to cut 1.8 million jobs in the industry – Reuters Germany

Beijing China wants to dismiss a total of 1.8 million workers in the struggling with overcapacity coal and steel industries.

This is equivalent to 15 percent of the workforce. “This is a very difficult task,” said Minister of labor and Social Security, Yin Weimin, on Monday in Beijing. “But we are very confident.” he did not name a timetable.

1.3 million alone jobs are to be lost in the coal industry. The leadership in Beijing wants to reduce the capacity of coal production by about 500 million tons in the next three to five years. “The economy sees itself exposed to a rather large downward pressure,” Yin said. “Some companies do with production and operation difficulties, which may result in inadequate employment.” To prevent social unrest, to create new jobs and to pay off debts of bankrupt previous companies, the government converted nearly 15 billion euros over the next two years.

the industry in the second largest after the United States economy in the world is increasingly becoming less important. The service sector accounted last year for the first time more than half of economic output. The official unemployment rate is currently around five percent. The government wants to rebuild the economy and reduce dependence on exports. But it also takes lower growth into account. The gross domestic product rose in 2015 by 6.9 percent as slow as for a quarter of a century no longer. The government expects this year with an increase from 6.5 to 7.0 percent.