20 million unemployed Chinese

[izzix]

China, France add to global jobs gloom

8 hours ago

BEIJING (AFP) — China and France became the latest leading economies to announce sharp increases in unemployment on Monday as US President Barack Obama tried to steer a huge stimulus package through the Senate.

Premier Wen Jiabao said Beijing could resort to "extraordinary measures" to boost its economy, in an interview given just before the latest data showed the global slowdown was hitting China harder than earlier numbers had indicated.

The sense of gloom in Asia was compounded when South Korea said exports in January were worth 21.7 billion dollars, a year-on-year drop of 32.8 percent and the biggest such decline since 1980.

Meanwhile in Europe, a new survey indicated manufacturing activity in the 16 countries using the euro retreated in January as France's finance minister said that unemployment climbed by 45,000 last month.

Christine Lagarde said official figures would be released later in the day but confirmed the surge in joblessness and warned that France "will certainly be in recession at some point or another."

"I'd be extremely astonished if we have positive growth in 2009, let's be realistic," she told reporters on board a train heading to Lyon, where Prime Minister Francois Fillon was due to unveil new stimulus measures.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy announced last week that unemployment jumped had 387,000 in January.

China said that about 20 million rural migrants were now out of work -- more than triple the number announced last month -- in an indication that the slowdown in the world's third-largest economy was intensifying.

Large numbers of Chinese workers have lost their jobs as demand in North America and Europe for the cheap consumer goods made in China has fallen off sharply, forcing thousands of factories to shut their doors.

An average of six million to seven million people leave their rural homes every year to find jobs, on top of the 20 million jobless, senior rural planning official Chen Xiwen said.

The government said on Sunday that 2009 could be the "toughest year" since the turn of the century for development of the countryside, which has fallen behind as Chinese economic reforms have favoured the cities.

In an interview with the Financial Times, premier Wen said "new, timely and decisive measures" could be needed to spur the overall economy in China, less than three months after unveiling a 580 billion dollar stimulus plan.

"We must take forceful steps. Under special circumstances, necessary and extraordinary measures are required," he told the paper.

Wen, who took aim at the US economic policy in Davos last week, also said it was "ridiculous" to suggest, as some economists have done, that China's vast pool of domestic savings was to blame for the current global crisis.

"Running our own affairs well is our biggest contribution to mankind," said Wen, underlining the goal to maintain growth at around 8 percent -- the minimum level Chinese authorities believe is needed to avoid social unrest.

Taiwan, a major electronics exporter also hit hard by the slowdown, meanwhile announced a 21 billion dollar stimulus drive over the next four years, hoping to create 150,000 jobs and bring unemployment under 4.5 percent.

The jobless rate on the island was 5.03 percent in December, the highest level in more than five years.

Obama's 819-billion-dollar stimulus package, which won approval from the House of Representatives last week, was moving to the Senate where members of the Republican opposition have been clamouring for a fundamental rethink.

"I think we're going to be in for a tough several months. We've got to get this economic recovery plan passed. We've got to start putting people back to work," Obama, who has scheduled a new round of talks with congressional leaders Monday evening at the White House, told US television.

"I've done extraordinary outreach, I think, to Republicans because they have some good ideas, and I want to make sure that those ideas are incorporated."

On Friday, data showed the US economy shrank nearly four percent in the last quarter of 2008, the sharpest decline since 1982.
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[aznyron]

20 mill out of work in China and thailand thinks it going to compete for the export business with China

it will snow in the equator before Thailand out bids China for work and they thing deflation is the answer to all there problems in the USA they listen to there opponents here it losing face if they take a suggestion
from the opposing party well let get back to business with Lao & vietnam on one border Burma & Malaysia on another with Indonesia and Singapore further south and the big guy to the North China 4 communist and 2 muslim countries I don't see how Thailand can survive in this economic turmoil and still think they can keep dumping money to keep the baht strong who ever is giving the FM advice better stop because he/she is way off the mark and is only making thailand poor and him/her self rich

[mortiboy]

Just a small point, I use Yahoo messenger chat. A contact I know has a good job(45,000 baht a month)
just told me her boss tell her "sorry no work now bye bye."
From 45,000 baht a month to zero! This is just the start! sht hit the fan soon ! Why cant this Govenment get the act together! What are they up to? Crazy! Its Suicide!

[izzix]

they are worried about loss of face so they keep on plastering over the cracks making out everything in the garden is rosy ,until .......