550,000 Chinese laid off

Source: The Straits Times

BEIJING - MORE than half a million Chinese people were thrown out of work in the last three months of 2008 as the impact of the global financial crisis deepened, the government said on Tuesday.
As of Dec 31, 8.86 million urban residents were registered as jobless, up 560,000 from the end of the third quarter, ministry of human resources spokesman Yin Chengji told a press conference.

'It shows the impact of the international financial crisis on China's employment situation,' he said.

What a staggering number. It not just people in North America (myself included) that are losing jobs in this economic crisis. It's happening all over the world. China, said to be the next superpower, is reeling as well.