Individuals in key groups who sign labor contracts of one year or longer with small, medium and micro enterprises in key industry sectors in Guangdong province, an economic powerhouse in South China, will be eligible for social insurance subsidies, according to a recent notice issued by provincial authorities.

The notice, jointly released in early October by Guangdong's finance, human resources and social security, and agriculture and rural affairs departments follows a similar policy guideline issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, in early July aimed at strengthening support for employment stabilization.

The State Council's notice proposed a series of measures, including special loans for job stabilization and expansion, temporary deferrals of social insurance payments for eligible enterprises and social insurance subsidies for key groups in key industrial sectors.

Guangdong's notice specifies the subsidy conditions, standards, scope of eligible enterprises and individuals, and the application process. Enterprises registered in Guangdong that operate in the manufacturing or service sectors and are not classified as large enterprises are considered small, medium or micro enterprises, according to the notice.

Individuals eligible for the subsidy include graduate students in their final year of study, college graduates who have not found employment within two years of leaving school, eligible workers who have been registered as unemployed for more than six months, and people identified as being at risk of returning to poverty.

The monthly subsidy standard is 25 percent of an individual's total contributions to basic pension, medical and unemployment insurance. The subsidy will begin from the month in which the enterprise pays social insurance for the employee in 2025, based on the actual number of months contributions are made, with a maximum duration of 12 months.

Eligible enterprises must submit initial subsidy applications by the end of 2025 through the provincial public employment service cloud platform. Once approved, the subsidy funds will be directly deposited into the social security accounts of the relevant individuals, the notice said.

Since September, several other provinces and regions have issued similar notices, stating that a subsidy of 25 percent of personal social security contributions will be provided to key groups employed by small, medium and micro enterprises in specific industries.

Providing subsidies directly to individuals employed by small and micro enterprises in specific sectors marks an innovative approach compared with previous practices, said Fang Lianquan, a researcher at the National Academy of Chinese Modernization of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"The subsidies can reduce the personal contribution burden for individuals in key groups, who tend to have low participation rates and contribution levels in social insurance, and help enhance employment stability," Fang said.