Authorities in Hubei – the province hit hardest by the novel coronavirus on the Chinese mainland - on Friday pledged to roll out a package of policies to bolster local employment.

The package includes subsidies to businesses and employment agencies offering jobs to people who have been without work for more than six months, according to Liu Yanhong, head of the Human Resource and Social Security Department of Hubei province.

The recruitment of rural teachers, doctors and social workers would be expanded and more grassroots positions would be reserved for college graduates, Liu told a daily news conference in Wuhan, the provincial capital.

The package also includes supportive measures targeting college students and people returning home to start small businesses. Local authorities will work with other provinces to find jobs for workers in Hubei and ensure they can return to work with low risk of exposure to the infection, she said.

For those having difficulties in getting jobs despite the measures, local government will offer them welfare jobs, she added.

Liu said Hubei is home to around 11 million migrant workers, of whom 6 million work outside the province.

About 70 percent of them returned home ahead of the Spring Festival and thus were later stranded due to travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus.