BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Xinjiang has over the past decades committed to promoting local employment, said a white paper issued here Monday.

    Over the years the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government has implemented proactive employment policies and promote employment growth through sustainable economic development, said the white paper on "Development and Progress in Xinjiang" issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

    In 2008, a total of 8,475,800 people in Xinjiang were employed. The registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 3.7 percent.

    Since the implementation of the western region development strategy, over 300,000 people in Xinjiang have been employed or reemployed each year.

    Local human resources agencies have been set up and on the increase. A public employment services system has taken shape, comprising of comprehensive services centers at county and district levels, grassroots-level services posts in communities, townships and villages, along with other types of services entities.

    In 2008, there were altogether 107 public employment service centers, with 3,944 employees.

    In recent years, export of labor services has become a new channel for Xinjiang to expand employment, said the paper.

    For many years people living in remote areas of southern Xinjiang mainly relied on the not very profitable farming and animal husbandry for a living. Since 2006, Xinjiang has launched alabor-export program first in southern Xinjiang's Jiashi County and then throughout the whole autonomous region.

    Through the program local rural residents could apply for jobs in companies in other provinces after signing up and going through training courses that give them the necessary qualifications.

    The local government is required to appoint a leader (or leaders) who supervise the migrant workers in their new company, and also take along with them Halal cooks to cater to their needs.

    Since 2006, Jiashi County has exported some 19,000 person-times of labor services to these enterprises.

    The migrant workers enjoy an average per-capita yearly net income of 7,000 yuan, double that of local farmers and herders in 2008. Government spending on training migrant workers professionalskills stands at 300 million to 400 million yuan each year.