China will promote the development of the household service industry to address the country’s rapidly aging population and help facilitate the two-child policy, according to a State Council Executive Meeting on Feb 20.

During the meeting, it was decided that China will encourage online household services and intermediary agents, enhance vocational training and introduce supporting policies, such as government purchasing, to improve industry development.

Hailed as a sunrise industry, household services have witnessed fast growth over recent years, boosting employment and poverty alleviation.

Data released by the National Development and Reform Commission showed that over 28 million people worked in the household service sector in 2017, creating over 440 billion yuan in revenue.

Last year, more than 100,000 poor people were lifted out of poverty through household services, and workers in this sector earned an average annual salary of about 45,000 yuan, said Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce.

The large-scale household service sector is now moving into a rapid stage of development, industry insiders noted.