Residents in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, are becoming more optimistic about future employment prospects.

People who were gloomy about employment over the next two years were found to be 3 per cent less so than the number surveyed just last year.

According to a major survey, 37 per cent of the interviewees thought the employment situation in the next two years will turn better.

But most of people who are pessimists are older and have lower educational levels, according to the survey, which was undertaken by the Statistics Bureau of Guangzhou in April. Some 5,000 people aged between 18 and 60 were interviewed.

The survey found that 66 per cent of the interviewees who said they will contend for another job if they lose their present job, grew by 10 per cent compared with last year.

Job-hopping

Of interviewees who intended to take on another job within this year, 62 per cent thought low personal qualifications are the biggest barrier for job-hopping.

The survey also researched the people's view on starting businesses in Guangzhou.

Twenty-three per cent of the people who run a business were found satisfied with the business environment in Guangzhou.

(China Daily August 4, 2004)