# Professsor Robert Whitelaw discusses the jobless rate in China, particularly in the coal and steel industry

1 Faculty News March 2, 2016 ![China Radio International - NewsPlus Radio logo](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/newsplusradio192x144.jpg?itok=mOT4UTDt)>

Excerpt from [China Radio International](http://english.cri.cn/7146/2016/03/02/3641s918788.htm) -- "I think the overall jobless rate is not an issue. I mean, 4% is a relatively low number. Think of that number in comparison, for example, to the unemployment rate in the US, which is about 5% or much worse, the unemployment rates in Europe, say in France, is running at about 10%. More troubling perhaps is the 1.8 million workers that look like they're going to be laid off from the coal and steel industry."

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