Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

ELIGIBLE enterprises can now apply for employment subsidies for the year 2019, sources from Shenzhen Municipal Social Security Fund Management Bureau said Tuesday.

The subsidies will be half the amount of the unemployment fund that the enterprises paid to the social security bureau. In 2018, the city gave out 1.28 billion yuan (US$189.63 million) in subsidies to 146,600 enterprises. In three years, the city accumulatively spent 5.63 billion yuan in serving the real economy and improving the business environment.

To ensure employment, enterprises that have paid full employment insurance and have a lower laid-off rate than the city’s registered unemployment rate are eligible for the employment subsidies. Those enterprises that have been registered within a year can also apply.

The subsidies can be used to pay for employees’ daily life expenses, social insurance, post-transfer training and skill training.

The city’s unemployment insurance is calculated on the basis of the minimum wage standard in the city. In December 2018, the employment insurance rate was lowered from 1.5 percent to 1 percent, of which 0.7 percent is paid by enterprises and 0.3 percent is paid by employees.