The average net income of poverty-stricken people rose from 4,221 yuan (about 643.52 U.S. dollars) a year in 2016 to 9,313 yuan in 2019, registering an average annual growth of 30.2 percent, Zhao Chenxin, secretary-general of the NDRC, told a press conference Thursday.

 

The country has stepped up efforts to facilitate employment opportunities in the relocated group, rolling out a raft of supportive measures to help them adapt to a new environment and improve their vocational skills, said Zhang Ying, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

 

The ministry, along with other departments, has worked to expand employment opportunities, cut taxes, provide funds and conduct targeted vocational training for the group, Zhang said.

 

So far, these measures have helped 3.58 million impoverished people obtain employment under the relocation programs.

 

To achieve the target of eradicating absolute poverty by the end of 2020, China has been helping impoverished people move from uninhabitable areas to places with better natural environments and living conditions. Official data showed that the country has spent about 600 billion yuan on poverty-relief relocation programs during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).