Almost 17,000 Timorese jobless

DILI: Finding work for the 16,897 job seekers registered at the local manpower office here remains a major headache for the local government.

Office chief Mudjihartono said last year the registered jobless numbered almost 18,000 and only a small percentage of those have since found work.

The provincial government has made several breakthroughs in providing employment, such as linking with companies in other provinces and resettling them under the state-sponsored transmigration program.

Over the past two decades, East Timor has sent 2,205 job seekers to Lampung, Riau, Jambi, North Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Maluku.

By the end of this year the provincial government plans to dispatch another 485 job seekers to North Sulawesi, Maluku, Kalimantan and Riau, Antara reported. (pan)