C. Java layoffs top 440,000

C. Java layoffs top 440,000

SEMARANG, Central Java: Over 440,000 Central Java workers have
been laid off as a direct result of the economic crisis
afflicting the country.

Antara quoted provincial legislator Istadjib as saying that
440,528 people have lost their jobs, of which 350,000 worked in
the construction industry.

"We need to tackle this problem," he told journalists
yesterday.

The province's unemployed include 10,000 migrant workers who
have returned from abroad, 70,000 who have returned from Jakarta
after losing their jobs, and 400 employees from liquidated banks.
(har)