AUSTRALIA

Government Launches Youth Jobs Effort: The government launched a $600-million plan to create jobs for teen-agers, whose 36% jobless rate is three times the national average. Prime Minister Paul Keating, concerned that high unemployment could kill off his government’s already slim electoral chances, said the plan will help 100,000 young people in 1993. Under the plan, employers will receive subsidies to take on young workers and send them to state training centers to boost their skills. Keating’s package is a follow-up to a plan launched in February to spend $2 billion on creating jobs for upgrading infrastructure, such as roads.