The municipality will offer jobs to more than 60,000 laid-off workers this year, Mayor Han Zhen said yesterday.

The project will expand in 2005 to 100,000 such workers.

The jobs being offered are stable and presentable, he said.

According to officials of Shanghai Labour and Social Security Bureau(SLSS), the positions are mainly within the public service sectors.

Since 2003, the municipality has pushed local departments, like environmental protection, green plantation and traffic administrations, to create more job opportunities.

The 60,000 new posts are in 12 categories such as assistants to environmental protection officials, assistants to traffic policemen, monitors of working security conditions and gardeners taking care of green plantations in the downtown areas, among others.

Sheng Zuhuan, deputy director of employment department of SLSS, said these workers will respectively earn a stable salary ranging from 800 yuan (US$96) to 1,000 yuan (US$120), expected to drastically improve their standard of living.

Zhou Taitong, the vice mayor in charge of employment, said these workers lost their jobs through no fault of their own but due to the adjustment of industrial structures in the city. They are still in their prime and can work.

"Relocating such laid-off workers is one of the most important tasks for the municipality in the coming years. We should train them with new skills and offer both physical and mental support," Zhou said.

Officials at the SLSS said the 60,000 workers will have at least one week of training before stepping into their positions.

Chen Zhanwei, one of the 60,000 workers, will start to work next week as an assistant to environmental protection officials.

"I am in my late 40's, there are still more than 10 years before I reach my age of retirement.

"When I suddenly lost my job, I felt very confused and upset and worried about the future. Now I am extremely happy to have a new job and will try my best to fit into it."

Yin Shizhong, another beneficiary of the project, will work as a gardener. He said that he would be able to earn enough money from the job to pay his son's tuition fees.

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