Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, had a record low unemployment rate of 2.42 percent last year, the city's labor and social security department said. Guangzhou allocated 20 million yuan (US$2.41 million) for training rural laborers in professional skills and helped more than 50,000 laid off rural laborers find jobs in non-agricultural sectors last year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2005)