Employment of disabled workers increases in China
China has seen an increase in employment for people with disabilities, with 8.62 million people employed in 2020, up from 8.55 million in 2019.
Among these, some 634,000 ran their own businesses, while nearly 2.4 million were in flexible employment, highlighted the report by the China Commission on Promotion of Publicity for the Undertakings of Chinese Disabled Persons, Social Sciences Academic Press, and Renmin University of China.
Many workers also found jobs after attending work-skills training programmes. In 2020, about 382,000 people with disabilities received such training, with 621 getting professional certification as blind masseurs.
The Chinese government has encouraged firms to hire disabled workers by providing financial incentives and releasing guidelines to help protect their working rights, reports China Daily.
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In 2018, Tianjin’s municipal government offered an allowance of 6,000 yuan (US$950) to any company hiring fresh graduates with disabilities. It also offered 4,000 yuan (US$633) allowances to encourage the employment of highly skilled disabled people and 3,000 yuan (US$475) for hiring those with lesser abilities.
