As China tries to tackle the problem of new jobs for the millions facing unemployment in state-owned enterprises a new survey has shown that women face particular problems in finding re-employment. The survey, by the government's official trade union federation, discovered that of more than 6000 women questioned over half had been unable to find new work and it discovered that many employers were unwilling to consider women even when they had suitable posts. From Beijing, Duncan Hewitt reports:

With 10 million workers laid off by state firms last year and more to come if the government pushes through its plans for further radical reforms, many women are finding themselves out of work -- often after years working on factory production lines. The official media is full of the heartening stories of those who have turned their misfortune into an opportunity, opening their own businesses or with the help of re-training discovering skills they never dreamed of.

But the picture painted in the survey by the all-China Federation of Trade Unions is a much grimmer one: 51% of the more than 6000 women questioned had failed to find new jobs. The official China Daily newspaper said they were victims of what it called China's irrational industrial structure, which meant there were still relatively few jobs available in the service sector, particularly in small towns.

Yet the survey also questioned some 400 employers and found that 71% would not consider women for jobs even if they had suitable vacancies, with maternity leave cited as one major reason.

But even while calling for better re-training opportunities for women the survey also implied that they were sometimes their own worst enemies.