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)