Migrant Workers at Shanghai Station. Credit: China Supertrends via Flickr
What’s it like to be unemployed in China? That’s a question that a near-record high number of people faced last month, amid the Covid-induced lockdowns across parts of China.
Beijing has responded to the country’s economic slowdown with a package of relief measures. But few of those policies are designed to provide direct aid to individuals and households. Narrow eligibility requirements and meager payments mean that few among China’s unemployed are adequately protected by the country’s social safety net.
The tension between China’s promise of prosperity to its people, and the Chinese government’s inadequate support for those who fail to achieve it, has long persisted. This week, The Wire focuses on one aspect of China’s social security system — unemployment insurance: who it covers, how it compares to the rest of the world, and what it means for China’s economic prosperity.
WHO GETS UNEMPLOYMENT?
To qualify for unemployment benefits in
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