Shanghai extends low-premium unemployment and work injury insurance

Shanghai will extend its low-premium policy for unemployment and work injury insurance to the end of next year, to reduce burdens on employers and enhance vitality of market entities, authorities announced on Thursday.

According to the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, from May 1 this year to December 31 next year, employers and employees in Shanghai will both continue to pay 0.5 percent of an employee's monthly salary to the unemployment insurance fund every month. Without the favorable policy, the employers would need to pay 2 percent of the employees' monthly pay while the employees need to pay 1 percent of his or her own salary.

Meanwhile, the city will continue to reduce the premium of work injury insurance, which is paid only by employers, by 20 percent to 0.16 to 1.52 percent of an employee's monthly salary.

The bureau said all employers, including middle, small and micro-sized enterprises, as well as self-employed individuals, will benefit from the policy.