Private economy has become a major channel for China's employment and re-employment as the country deepens its reform and opening-up policy, Xie Boyang, vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), said Wednesday.

"Job opportunities created by the private economy account for an increasing proportion of the country's total employment," said Xie at the China Employment Forum, being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Friday.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in 66 cities last year, around two thirds of workers laid-off by state-owned enterprises were re-employed in private enterprises.

The number of employees in large private industrial enterprises have, the survey showed, increased by 16.1 percent in 2003, much higher than the average growth rate of 4.3 percent in all industrial enterprises.

In the 125 private businesses awarded by the ministry and ACFIC last month, said Xie, 45.6 percent of the 260,000 jobs created in the businesses during the past three years went to SOE laid-off workers.

Besides, these private businesses have bought endowment, medical and unemployment insurance for around 80 percent of their employees.

For a long time, Xie said, China has faced intense employment pressure.

Last year alone, 10 million workers entered the job market, around 14 million people were still laid-off and jobless, 95 million migrant workers were seeking stable jobs in the cities and130 million surplus laborers in the countryside needed to be transferred into the cities.

The government, said Xie, will work hard to encourage people to start their own businesses and find job opportunities by themselves, by providing financial assistance, loans and tax exemption.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2004)