Feng Guangping finally sees the hope of having a real house, even a rented one.

"A house means a real home," said Feng, 41, whose current "home" is a 10 sq m compartment in a residential community's vehicle shed in Yinchuan, the capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

He applied unsuccessfully several times for a low-rent house, but he might have better luck this time, thanks to China's 900 billion yuan (about US$130 million) plan for low- and middle-income housing.

"I finally see hope," Fan said after community staffer Li Xuehua told him that his application was in the queue for rental houses, meaning he had qualified.

About 7.5 million low-income urban families and 2.4 million households in shantytowns are expected to benefit from the housing stimulus package over the next three years.

As economic growth slows, both the central and local governments have sought to soften the blow for low-income and unemployed households.

"Without the free skill-training class funded by the government, I'd just be killing time," said Zhang Daxue, a migrant worker who has returned to his hometown in Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Zhang worked in a power company in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan. Due to the impact of the financial crisis, his salary fell to only 1,000 yuan, which he said was difficult to live on. He went home in early November.

He joined an electric-welding class funded by the Baiyun district government of Bijie, which leads to a trade certificate.

Zhang said that even though he was good at his job, the lack of formal training kept his pay low. He said he hoped that with a certificate, he would find a job in his home province, which will start new highway and hydroelectric projects in 2009.

About 7.8 million migrant workers have returned home, partly because of factories that have closed amid the global slowdown, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The central government has told local governments to offer free training for unemployed migrant workers to help them find new jobs or start businesses.

In Guizhou, all returning migrant workers can get free training. The local governments will offer subsidies of 500 yuan to 800 yuan to schools that teach these workers certain skills.

"To carry out skill training for migrant workers who return home is totally for their benefit," said Liu Xiqiu, director of the employment and vocational skill development center of Guiyang, the Guizhou provincial capital.

The training will increase the competitiveness of migrant workers and help them find better jobs in eastern coastal areas in the future, said Liu. He said the center will also provide a good platform for them to work inside the province.

China has also urged companies to reduce job cuts. However, millions of college graduates are finding job-hunting hard work.

Li Yunpan, a graduate of the Ningxia-based North University of Nationalities, said he had attended many job fairs in Beijing and Shanghai, but the results were rather disappointing.

"Graduates this year seem to have fewer opportunities as many companies have no hiring plans," said Li, a finance major. "No work means no income."

Education authorities have urged graduates to take grass-roots posts in the countryside and told colleges to keep students enrolled doing research work as part of the effort to reduce employment pressure.

In February, an employment project involving 40 universities and 30 economic development zones across the country will be launched to help graduates find work. Graduates will have a transition period of doing research or working for universities and development zones, before going to career-related jobs. Experts expect the project to provide employment for about 1 million graduates.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2009)