China to stem mass layoffs

Companies in the Chinese provinces of Shandong and Hubei, have been told they must seek permission if they want to lay off more than 40 people.



Officials are reportedly worried that the increasing unemployment figures could trigger social unrest.



Nearly 700,000 people have already lost jobs in Shandong alone.



In southern Guangdong, tens of thousands of firms have closed, sparking off reverse migration to the countryside by redundant workers.



China\'s economic growth has also slowed sharply this year to around 8 percent much less than the usual double-digit figures seen for years.



The human resources controls imposed in Shandong and Hubei are an attempt to put bureaucratic obstacles in the way of mass layoffs.