Tibet sees employment growth in 2017

LHASA - More than 54,000 new jobs were created in urban regions in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region last year, according to the regional labor authority.

The number has doubled within five years. Tibet's urban unemployment rate was below 2.7 percent in 2017, lower than the national average of 3.9 percent.

The regional government has also made efforts to help those living under the poverty line to find jobs.

"We had training programs for about 110,000 underprivileged laborers last year," said Li Fuzhong, head of the regional human resources and social security department.

Trainers were sent to rural areas to help farmer and herders learn new skills.

The training programs were mostly related to local industries that people are familiar with, including furniture making and sculpture, said Yuan Xingcheng, head of the department of human resources and social security in Qamdo city.

Meanwhile, the local authorities aim to advance employment with entrepreneurship and innovation. A 2 billion yuan ($316 million) entrepreneurship fund has been set up to help college graduates start their own business, along with a new startup incubator for college students in Lhasa.