China encourages unemployed to move to countryside

Migrant workers made redundant by factory closures, fresh college graduates who can’t find good jobs in towns and military veterans who cannot settle down to city life are welcome to try their luck in the countryside, the government suggests. According to guidelines released by the State Council, those who are having trouble making ends meet in the city or don’t want an urban lifestyle are being encouraged to return to the land and start farming, food processing, leisure agriculture, rural tourism or consumer service businesses. Local governments have been instructed to help the new settlers with financing, training and technological support. According to the South China Morning Post, the guidelines come at a time when the nation’s slowing economic growth is struggling to create good jobs in the cities, which has in turn led to social pressures.