Govt plans further steps to fill labor gap

Human resources department will further strengthen support to major industries and promote preferential policies to tackle labor shortage amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.

Zhang Ying, director of the employment promotion department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said at a news conference on Saturday that the epidemic has resulted into labor shortage because of policies restricting population flow.

She said the ministry has released preferential policies to some major companies that focus on the production of medical materials, daily necessities, agriculture and other related facilities.

For example, she said the government has built a mechanism on Feb 15, giving subsidies to enterprise and work agencies.

"Apart from guiding migrant workers to return to their positions in good order, we also support the recruitment work in those companies and continue the efforts to mobilize workers between different companies to meet the labor demands," Zhang said.

Other policies have also been announced in the past weeks to resume work and production, including offering chartered transportation service to curb the spread of the epidemic during the return trips.

Further, the ministry has set up more free online courses with the focus on professions in urgent demand and has given subsidies and allowances to companies and human resources agencies to recruit workers as part of efforts to tackle the labor shortage.

As of Friday, Zhang said the ministry has helped met the demand of
298,000 people for 8,442 enterprises across the country.

"We will adjust our policies in accordance with the needs and specify the supporting policies in different regions as soon as possible," she said.