China announced today that one in seven Chinese migrant workers is out of work. That means about 20 million workers are unable to find work, forcing many of them to return to rural areas as a result. The number is more than twice the estimate from about five weeks ago, suggesting an expansion of the current $585 billion Chinese stimulus package may be necessary. Migrant workers make up the heart of China's cheap manufacturing sector, and social unrest is suspected to be growing as unemployment increases by millions. Chinese officials are acting to dispels protests, but also enhancing subsidies, loans, and funding to rural areas.
See "Joblessness Jumps Sharply Among China?s Migrants", Sharon LaFraniere, The New York Times, February 1, 2009