More Chinese are covered by the country's developing social
security system, according to statistics released by China's
Ministry of Labor and Social Security in Beijing Wednesday.
In
2002, some 2.2 million more Chinese joined the pension insurance
scheme than in 2001, bringing the total number of people covered by
the scheme to 110 million.
Meanwhile, pension insurance premiums are expected to generate 211
billion yuan (about US$25.4 billion) by the year's end, up two
billion yuan from last year.
More than 90 million Chinese have joined the country's medical
insurance scheme, a year-on-year increase of 14 million.
Labor and Social Security Minister Zhang Zuoyi said the steady
increase in the number of beneficiaries indicated China's ongoing
reforms in its social security systems were on track and
increasingly welcome.
He
attributed the achievement to the central government's consistent
policies since 1998 in exploring job opportunities, optimizing
social security systems and protecting the interests of
workers.
Zhang said China's registered jobless rate might be held around
four percent by the end of this year, lower than the projected 4.5
percent.
Over the past five years, a total of 27 million employees from
state-owned enterprises had been laid-off for either industrial
restructuring or economic reforms. Of them, some 18 million have
found new jobs. In this year's fourth quarter alone, more than
500,000 are back in the workforce.
Meanwhile, retirees from the country's state-owned enterprises have
risen to 33 million with an annual hike of 1.5 million since
1997.
Over the same period, China's central government has three times
raised monthly pension payments to these retirees, boosting their
average level from 415 yuan (about US$50) in 1997 to the present
625 yuan (about US$75.3).
While setting targets for 2003, Zhang said China aimed to help the
remaining 9.5 million laid-off workers find jobs and keep the
country's registered jobless rate around 4. 5 percent.
More efforts would be made to broaden medical and pension system
reforms. And setting up a medical assistance system targeting
low-income families would be speeded up.
The ministry would also tighten its supervision on employment to
regulate the job market and better protect the interests of
workers.
(People's Daily December 26, 2002)