Xinhua reported that a new directive had been issued on May 31, 2014 instructing all State enterprises in Xinjiang to hire at least 70 per cent of new staff locally. It said at least 25 per cent must be from ethnic minorities. Hou Lixian, Deputy Director of the Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region’s Labour and Social Security Bureau, said at least 70 per cent of new staff must be local people in order to ease unemployment in Xinjiang. He said a special fund would be set up to boost labour intensive industries, especially textile and garments. Su Guoping, Deputy Director of Xinjiang's State Enterprise Administration, said the 25 per cent staff quota for minorities was intended to create 30,000 jobs for non-Han Chinese residents of the region within three years. The administration will also start 292 projects to create up to 45,000 jobs in the less developed southern part of Xinjiang.