As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of people living in poverty or on minimum subsistence allowances, or who are unemployed, is estimated to see a marked increase, and related departments must assess the situation and expand the coverage of assistance policies to help all those in need as much as possible, Premier Li Keqiang urged at the State Council executive meeting on April 21.

Saying there is a notable increase in unemployment pressure this year, especially for migrant workers, the Premier said that stronger and targeted measures must be taken to ensure people’s basic livelihood and to address unprecedented challenges facing the current economy.

He also said that the priority of the assistance work is to expand the coverage of the policy, which means it should not only benefit the existing population who need help, but also include people who fall into the edge of poverty or minimum subsistence allowances in urban and rural areas, as well as vulnerable groups who were affected by the epidemic.

Migrant workers who have paid unemployment insurance but have not found jobs should be specifically included in unemployment insurance, the Premier added.

"The purpose of expanding the coverage is to make sure the assistance policy can cover as many qualified people as possible," the Premier said. "People living in poverty, living on minimum subsistence allowances, and the unemployed are actually the most essential groups in terms of ensuring people’s livelihood."

The meeting decided that the construction of major national projects will prioritize employing people living in poverty, and the policy of using employment as a form of relief will be implemented in more areas with salary accounting for 15 percent of the funding for the projects, 5 percentage points higher than before. Moreover, payment deadlines for small loans designed for poverty relief will be extended to the end of this year.

As the COVID-19 epidemic could lead to people ending up in poverty, the State Council called for adopting supportive measures, including providing micro-loans with discounted interest and skills training to vulnerable labor forces. Measures will also be taken to help promote sales of featured products in poor areas to increase farmers’ income.

The meeting also decided to expand both minimum subsistence allowances and unemployment insurance to cover all eligible families in urban and rural areas. Aid should also be provided for people in temporary difficulties during the epidemic.

On condition that measures to aid the unemployed are in place, such as extending time limits of unemployment insurance benefits for older workers, temporarily raising unemployment insurance benefits, and increasing temporary price subsidies, the coverage scope of unemployment insurance will be expanded to all insured jobless people in urban and rural areas. Unemployed migrant workers who have been insured for less than a year are also covered.

"Measures to strengthen assistance for people in need and guarantee their basic life must be fully implemented," Premier Li said.