BEIJING - CHINA'S tourism industry is expected to employ 100 million people by 2015, state media reported on Thursday, meaning one in every 14 Chinese will work in the sector then.

The government will introduce various policies to help the industry reach the goal, which marks a steep increase from the 60 million currently employed in the industry, the People's Daily said.

Authorities will adopt measures to facilitate job hunting and subsidise training of new staff, according to a statement posted on the National Tourism Administration's website on Wednesday.

They also plan to launch a campaign to expand tourism infrastructure in less developed areas, the administration said.

Labour Minister Tian Chengping said earlier this year that the employment situation in China was 'very severe', as 20 million new jobseekers emerge annually - a situation that will continue for a very long time.

The main reason why China is seeking high growth - at least eight per cent per year - is to absorb the millions of new entrants into the labour force every year.

China currently has 1.3 billion people, but according to a United Nations forecast it will reach almost 1.4 billion in 2015. -- AFP