Beijing, May 09: In a significant move, China has decided that workers who earn less than the local living allowance would be declared as "unemployed," the state media reported today. "Chinese workers earning less than the local living allowance will soon be categorised as unemployed and will be encouraged to find new jobs," the official English language newspaper, 'China Daily' reported.

According to a new classification by the Ministry of Labour and social security, people with little income will be viewed the same as those who do not have jobs. "If you cannot earn more than the basic living allowance given by the local governments, you will be regarded as unemployed," the paper quoted an official of the ministry as saying.

China's unemployment rate for the first quarter of the year was over 4.1 per cent and the figure would have been much higher if people earning less than the basic living allowance had been taken into account. "Our main aim is not merely to refine the concept," the official said.

An unnamed official with the ministry's press office said the Central government had approved the measure, which would be fully revealed soon.

Beijing and Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, have been using the classification since last year, the report said. Latest official statistics show the number of registered unemployed in China's urban areas had reached 7.75 million people by the end of March, 0.75 million more than the same period last year.

Bureau Report