Helping enterprises ensure employment

The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently issued a document containing 33 policies in six aspects aimed at stabilizing economic growth, a key point being to ensure employment. The State Council has also sent teams to 12 provincial-level regions to inspect their performance in ensuring employment.

At a time when many cities are tightening measures to fight the new outbreak of novel coronavirus infections, the difficulties enterprises face, especially small and micro-sized ones that cannot deal with risks, are evident. Small and micro-sized enterprises account for a majority of domestic jobs, so when they shut down, many jobs are lost.

That's why the central government is doing all it can to stabilize the economy. The 22 key sectors where enterprises are facing the biggest difficulties have been allowed to pay their social security premiums later. The central government has also allocated 154.70 billion yuan ($22.98 billion) for those who need help.

In order to stabilize the economy and ensure a better employment rate, the central government must guarantee that the large amount of resources it has allocated is distributed effectively.

The procedures must be simplified so that the funds reach the enterprises soon. There should be fewer forms to fill in for enterprises to apply for the funds, while the approval date should be set earlier, so that the enterprises can get the money easier and earlier. This is important because for small and micro-sized enterprises even a day's delay could mean the difference between life and death.

The money should be distributed in a manner that it reaches those who need it the most. Enterprises employing more employees and facing greater pressure can get more money, while "zombie enterprises" that try to get money by fraud should be stopped and punished. Using big data, it will not be difficult to find which enterprises truly need the funds.

We hope that enterprises that are the supporting pillars of employment overcome these difficult times and see hope.