Workers make clothes at a company in Shaoxing city, a manufacturing hub in East China's Zhejiang Province (photo: Yang Hui/GT)

Shaoxing city, a manufacturing hub in East China's Zhejiang Province, is linking redundant workers of its ailing factories with the busy, labor-lacking firms in a bid to help protect local jobs amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Many of the city's exporters, particularly in textile printing and dyeing sectors, have seen a plummet in both orders and incomes because of the global spread of the virus, said Shaoxing human resources authority. 

"Their employees who have just returned to work may face the risk of losing jobs," said Qiu Hongzhu, director of the employment center under Shaoxing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

On the contrary, Shaoxing's domestic manufacturers, such as those in machine manufacturing and electronic processing, are suffering a labor shortage with their production capacity gradually resuming after considerable improvement to the pandemic situation in China, Qiu added.

To resolve this problem, the employment center set up an online labor matching platform in early April after surveying over 2,000 local manufacturers and traders. 

Employers who lack or have redundant workers can upload their information and requirements onto the platform. The center will then recommend jobs and labors to both sides based on their preferences.

An exporter based in Yuecheng district, for instance, has shifted its more than 50 employees to another company using this platform, Qiu said.

One week after the launch of this platform, as of Thursday, 200 redundant workers have secured new jobs from factories encountering labor shortages.