China's Labor and Social Security Index

By the end of March this year, the number of laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises was 6.53 million, 230,000 less than that of the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Among all the laid-off workers, 93.3 percent were registered at reemployment centers, 99.9 percent got basic living allowances from the government.

During the quarter 330,000 laid-off workers found new jobs, with the re-employment rate at 4.8 percent.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security releases major labor and social security indicators on a quarterly and annual basis.

Layoffs from SOEs in 2000

By the end of 2000, laid-off workers from China's state-owned enterprises amounted to 6.57 million, 47,000 more than a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Of all the laid-off workers, 93.5 percent were registered at various reemployment centers, and 97.3 percent got basic living allowances.

Throughout the year 3.61 million laid-off workers found new jobs, with the re-employment rate reaching 35.4 percent.

Labor Market

China launched a overhaul of labor markets in 100 major cities in 2000, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

In the year 14 provinces set up labor market information and monitoring networks.

By the end of the year, there were 29,240 job agencies across the country, which helped 9.75 million people find jobs.

Job Training

A total of 3.58 million laid-off workers in China received various job training in 2000, and 2.26 million of them found new jobs, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

By the end of the year, there were 3,792 vestibule schools across the country, with a combined enrollment of 1.4 million students. The number of various employment training centers and other social training agencies totaled 3,751 and 15,000 respectively.

Throughout the year a total of 8.96 million people had been trained through various channels.

Endowment Insurance

By the end of 2000, China had a total of 38.76 million retired workers, 1.49 million more than that of the previous year, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The country's endowment insurance programs covered 104.48 million workers and 31.7 million retirees, up 10 percent and 6.2 percent respectively from a year earlier.

Those having participated in endowment insurance received insurance payments on time and in full.

Certified Skilled Workers

A total of 4.42 million Chinese workers entered examinations of vocational skills and 3.72 million got certificates in 2000, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

By the end of the year, there were 8,179 vocational skills cerfifying agencies with 128,000 examiners.

Medical Insurance

By the end of 2000, 320 of China's 349 major cities had worked out medical insurance reform plans and 284 cities had enacted their plans covering 43.32 million people, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

In the year the revenue of basic medical insurance fund was 17 billion yuan (2 billion US dlrs), and its expenditures, 12.4 billion yuan (1.5 billion US dlrs).

By the end of the year, the overall surplus of the medical insurance find was 8.9 billion yuan (some 1.08 billion US dlrs).

Endowment Insurance

By the end of 2000, province-wide endowment insurance programs had been set up in all localities of the country except Tibet, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Insurance payments for 27.56 million retirees were distributed through banking and post offices rather than the employers, and such service covered 92 percent of the retirees, 44 percentage points more than in 1999.

Industrial Relations

Labor arbitrators in China handled 135,000 disputes of industrial relations in 2000, up 12.5 percent from 1999, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Rulings were made on 92.3 percent of the disputes in the year.

The disputes involved 423,000 employees, 10.8 percent less than in 1999.

In the year labor arbitrating departments also settled 72,000 disputes through mediation.

Industrial Injury Insurance

By the end of 2000, a total of 43.5 million workers had taken industrial injury insurance, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The revenue of industrial injury insurance fund was 2.5 billion yuan and its expenditures amounted to 1.4 billion yuan in the year, with a surplus of 5.8 billion yuan.

In addition, 30.03 million workers had taken child-bearing insurance in 2000, up 1.9 percent from 1999.

The revenue of child-bearing insurance fund was 1.12 billion yuan, and its expenditures, 840 million yuan, with a surplus of 1.68 billion yuan.

Unemployment Insurance

By the end of 2000, a total of 104.08 million people had participated in unemployment insurance, 5.56 million or 6 percent more than a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Throughout the year the expenditures of unemployment insurance fund amounted to 12.3 billion yuan (1.5 billion US dlrs) and 3.3 million unemployed workers got benefits. The overall surplus of the fund was 19.6 billion yuan (2.4 billion US dlrs).

Employment

By the end of 2000, China's work force totaled 711.5 million, 5.64 million more than in 1999, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Of all the workers, 50 percent were engaged in primary industry (excluding mining), 22.5 percent in secondary industry (including mining), and 27.5 percent in tertiary industry.

Among the 112.6 million employees in urban areas, 78.78 million worked in the state-owned sector, 14.47 million in the collective-owned sector, and the rest, 19.35 million, in other sectors.

Rural Old-age Pension Programs

By the end of 2000, a total of 61.72 million rural residents had participated in endowment insurance, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The surplus of the rural endowment insurance fund was 19.55 billion yuan (2.38 billion US dlrs).

Wage Income

The wages for urban workers in China amounted to 1,066 billion yuan in 2000, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The per capita annual wage income for urban workers was 9,371 yuan, up 11.4 percent from that of the previous year, with price factors taken into account.

The per capita annual wage income was 9552 yuan for workers in the state-owned sector, 6262 yuan for those in the collective-owned industries, and 10,984 yuan for employees in private and foreign-funded businesses.






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