Laid-off workers find new positions

As China cuts overcapacity in the steel and coal industries in northern regions, the government has also made the resettlement of laid-off workers a priority, officials from Tianjin municipality, and Hebei and Shanxi provinces said on Tuesday.

Shanxi province managed to re-employ 31,600 workers, 99.8 percent of those made redundant due to cutting capacity in the iron, steel and coal industries last year, Wang Fu, deputy governor of Shanxi, said at a group discussion of the ongoing session of the national legislature.

Handan, a city in Hebei province where iron and steel are the pillar industry, has re-employed more than 12,000 workers. In 2016, Handan cut over 10 million metric tons of iron, steel and coal capacity.