Employment subsidies in Shanghai
The People's Government of Shanghai published on 28 May the "Action Plan for Accelerating Economic Recovery and Revitalization in Shanghai" with a list of 50 measures and policies aimed to help enterprises greatly affected by the pandemic resume their operation and provide them relief, subsidies, and financial aids.
On 6 June, the Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Shanghai announced the implementation of two critical measures to stabilize the employment in the Municipality through the issuance of the Notice on Giving Employment Subsidies to Relevant Employers in the Municipality-
The Notice, which was issued jointly with the Municipal Finance Bureau, the Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Municipal Education Commission, the Municipal Commission of Transportation, and the Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, will provide employment subsidies to employers operating in seven industries greatly affected by the pandemic, namely catering, retail, tourism (travel agencies and management of tourist attractions), transportation, culture and entertainment, accommodation, and exhibition.
Eligible employers in the above industries, established before 1 January 2022 and paying social insurance contributions for their employees as required by the relevant regulations, can receive a one-off subsidy of CNY 600 for each employee (up to CNY 3 million each employer), provided that they didn't lay off employees or the lay-off rate is within 5.5%. The application for the subsidy can be submitted to the local office of the Human Resource and Social Security Bureau before 31 December 2022.
A second measure included in the Notice is a one-off subsidy provided to every employer hiring unemployed individuals or new graduates from 1 March to 31 December 2022 in the Municipality. Eligible employers recruiting individuals who have been unemployed for at least three months or recent graduates from college and universities in the above period, signing a labor contract of 1 year or more, and paying social contributions as required by law, can receive a one-off subsidy of CNY 2,000 for each person.
Maintaining a proper level of employment is a crucial target of Chinese social policies; according to the government's work report published earlier this March, China aims to create over 11 million new urban jobs and keep a surveyed urban unemployment rate of no more than 5.5%.