Measures to boost employment

The government rolled out a variety of measures on Wednesday to further spur employment, according to a guideline released by the State Council.

The guideline said authorities will prioritize employment, job creation and implement a more proactive employment policy.

The guideline includes measures to support businesses to stabilize jobs, promote employment and entrepreneurship and strengthen training services.

As part of measures to boost employment, the guideline said that companies without any, or with few layoffs, can get a 50 percent refund of their unemployment insurance premiums paid in the past year.

The government will also fully use State financing guarantees to support financing for small companies and improve the availability of loans for such businesses.

To encourage entrepreneurship, the government will extend guarantees to eligible firms and individuals in their applications for loans up to 3 million yuan ($430,000) and 150,000 yuan respectively. Laid-off workers in areas with employment difficulties will be provided free office space to start their own businesses.

More government-subsidized training will be conducted to equip the jobless with vocational skills, the guideline said. In the next three years, at least a million young people will be trained, and intern subsidies will be expanded to those age 16 to 24 yet to find jobs.

Eligible individuals faced with difficulty in finding jobs and families without any employed members can receive subsidies for their daily expenses as they receive vocational training, the guideline said.

More support will be extended to unemployed individuals, who can register in their residential areas and apply for favorable policies in employment and starting a business, it said.

The guideline also called for local authorities to issue unemployment insurance to those in need and provide them with subsistence allowances.