BEIJING (Reuters) – The coronavirus pandemic is expected to cause millions more people in China to lose their jobs, leaving many of them stranded without a safety net, unable to access state unemployment benefits, economists say.
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks walk across a street at Beijing’s Financial Street during evening rush hour, as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
The rapid spread of the disease around the world has dashed hopes for a quick recovery in China, where the virus first emerged. Analysts expect nearly 30 million job losses this year due to stuttering work resumptions and plunging global demand, outpacing the 20-plus million layoffs during the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Beijing has fortified its jobless claims programme in the decade since the financial crisis erupted, tripling the pot of funds to which both employers and workers contribute to 581.7 billion yuan ($82.37 billion), according to the latest data.
But millions of workers have no contracts or have not been paying into the unemployment insurance scheme, meaning they will have to rely on their employers giving them compensation if they get laid off. Many will be forced to dip into savings or seek help from their extended family if they lose their jobs.
Some 2.29 million people received unemployment insurance in January and February, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. In the same period, an estimated 5 million people lost their jobs,