China Releases 2011 Statistics for HR and Social Security Development

June 11, 2012 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 3 minutes

By Xiaolei Gu

Jun. 11 – China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently released a statistical bulletin on “The 2011 Human Resource and Social Security Development in China (hereinafter referred as the Bulletin),” outlining the country’s employment, social security, human resource, and public service conditions in the year 2011.

Employment conditions
China’s working population reached 764.2 million by the end of 2011, with 359.14 million employed in cities and towns. Sector-wise, primary industry accounts for 34.8 percent of total employment, while secondary industry has a share of 29.5 percent, and tertiary industry maintains 35.7 percent.

At the same time, the total number of migrant workers hit 252.78 million, with an increase of 10.55 million from 2010. Among the migrant workers, about 158.63 million seek work outside of their hometown.

There are roughly 241,900 foreigners with work permits in China, according to the Bulletin, while the number of Hong Kong and Macau residents with work permits stands at approximately 94,600.

Social security insurance
According to the Bulletin, the construction and improvement of the existing social security system yielded fruitful results in the year 2011, as the combined revenue of all five social insurance items (pension, medical, maternity, unemployment and work-related injury) recorded a year-on-year growth of 27.7 percent to RMB2.4 trillion, while social security expenditures increased by 21.8 percent to RMB1.81 trillion.

The revenue of basic pension funds in cities and towns reached RMB1.69 trillion in 2011, a 25.9 percent increase compared to the previous year. Around RMB1.4 trillion came from basic pension payments, while the rest came from government subsidies. The total expenditure on basic pension was RMB1.28 trillion last year, with a year-on-year increase of 20.9 percent.

Total medical insurance revenue in 2011 stood at RMB553.9 billion, which marked an increase of 28.6 percent from the previous year. Expenditures, meanwhile, increased by 25.2 percent to RMB443.1 billion.

The total revenues and expenditures of the unemployment insurance fund in 2011 were a respective RMB92.3 billion (year-on-year growth of 42.1 percent) and RMB43.3 billion (year-on-year growth of 2.2 percent).

Besides the abovementioned three items, work-related injury insurance and maternity insurance have also seen significant increases. In 2011, total revenues and expenditures of work-related injury insurance stood at RMB46.6 billion and RMB28.6 billion, respectively, with corresponding increases of 63.7 percent and 48.8 percent. Revenues from maternity insurance increased by 37.8 percent by the end 2011, reaching RMB22 billion, while expenditures saw an increase of 26.7 percent up to RMB13.9 billion.

Income distribution
According to the Bulletin, the average annual salary of employees of non-private enterprises/entities in cities and towns increased from RMB37,147 in 2010 to RMB42,452 in 2011, while that of employees of private enterprises/entities increased from RMB20,759 to RMB24,556.

Moreover, 25 provinces and cities adjusted minimum wages with an average increase of 22 percent. Shenzhen had the highest monthly minimum wage in 2011 at RMB1,320, while Beijing had the highest hourly wage at RMB13.

In addition to continuously improving domestic employment conditions, the social security system and income distribution, the government is also dedicated to advancing the construction of talent teams, better coordinating labor relations, protecting workers’ rights, revising and perfecting the legislative system of human resources and social security, and expediting the construction of service infrastructure in villages and lesser-developed areas.

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