CHENGDU, Jan.5 (NBD) -- To improve people's wellbeing and drive economic growth, the central government has provided 1.77 billion yuan (255.38 million US dollars) to 2,923 employment programs in the past three years. As of the end of 2016, 160,000 jobs have been created in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Hu Kaijiang, director of the Economic and Information Commission of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, said the employment programs in the first two years offered 70,000 jobs. Currently, about 1,700 new programs have been launched, driving investments of 8.9 billion yuan (1.28 billion US dollars).