In the mid-1980s about 11 percent of the work force, or 50 million people, was employed by the industrial sector in stateowned units and collective enterprises (see Labor Force , ch. 2). In state-owned enterprises, the annual output per worker (the Chinese measure of productivity) rose by 9.4 percent to -Y15,349. In 1987 there was a severe urban unemployment problem, and a virtually unlimited supply of unskilled and semiskilled labor. Skilled workers, engineers, scientists, technicians, and managerial personnel were in very short supply. During the Cultural Revolution, many specialists were forced to abandon their occupations, and most training and educational programs ceased during the 10-year hiatus in higher education from 1966 to 1976 (see Education Policy , ch. 4). This led to a shortage of skilled personnel that seriously hampered the industrial sector's implementation of imported modern technology and independent development of new management and production forms. In 1980 a modern management training center was established in Dalian, Liaoning Province, with the help of foreign experts. In 1987 many Dalian graduates found it difficult to use their newly acquired skills because managerial autonomy was lacking, and many cadres had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. It was unclear what effect students educated abroad were having on industry.

Data as of July 1987