Employment is of paramount importance for people's wellbeing, for it plays a decisive role in both people's living standards and economic and social development. So, what actions has Chongqing taken and will take to guarantee employment? Let's see what Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau has said.

"Since the beginning of this year, we have been working to coordinately promote epidemic prevention and control and ensure people's employment, paying attention to key groups and key enterprises, and making every endeavor to assist enterprises and stabilize employment," said Zhang Pan, Deputy Director of the Employment Promotion and Unemployment Insurance Department under Chongqing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. To be specific, the bureau guaranteed employment through issuing necessary policies to assist enterprises and stabilize employment, helping all migrant workers to return to work, guaranteeing the employment of all needed enterprises and supporting the employment of all key groups in need, he added.

Previously, Chongqing issued bail-out policies related to social insurance: the premiums for basic old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and work-related injury insurance will be exempted for five months for all micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Chongqing, and will be halved for three months for all large enterprises in Chongqing; eligible enterprises with difficulties in production and operation may defer the payment of social insurance premiums for the current period; small and medium-sized enterprises severely affected by the epidemic can enjoy premium reimbursement for stabilizing employment. By the end of April, Chongqing had reduced social insurance premiums for enterprises by RMB 6.75 billion, helping them overcome difficulties and stabilize employment.

"Next, we will continue to advance coordinated progress in reducing the burden on business, stabilizing jobs and expanding employment, and put in place policies on the reduction or exemption of social insurance premiums, compensation of unemployment insurance and employment support," said Zhang. For example, he added, on ensuring the employment of critical groups, a linkage mechanism integrating human resources and social security departments, education departments, colleges (universities) and districts (counties) will be established to promote the employment of college graduates through multiple channels. On promoting entrepreneurship-driven employment, efforts will be made to improve the long-term mechanism of entrepreneurship-driven employment and build matchmaking and communication platforms through entrepreneurship and innovation competitions and entrepreneurship ecology summits.

In addition, following the establishment of the Mutual Development Alliance for Employment and Entrepreneurship of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle on May 26, Sichuan and Chongqing employment service authorities signed the cooperation agreement on Jointly Promoting Public Employment and Entrepreneurship Services in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. Moreover, Sichuan and Chongqing will make joint efforts to establish a sharing and collaboration mechanism for employment services and an open and sharing platform for innovation and entrepreneurship services, so as to jointly stabilize the employment.