China's Unemployment Insurance Payouts Hit Record Highs in January-May

BEIJING, Jul. 4 (CNA) -- China's unemployment insurance payouts reached a record high for the January-May period, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS). In May alone, payouts amounted to 17.22 billion yuan (approximately NT$79.2 billion), a year-on-year increase of 13.96%, marking the highest May figure since 2022.

The MOHRSS website released its "Key Statistical Data for January-May on Human Resources and Social Security" on July 3. The data shows that unemployment insurance fund expenditures for January-May totaled 88.08 billion yuan. Subtracting the January-April expenditure of 70.86 billion yuan reveals that the May payout was 17.22 billion yuan.

An article published today by "Shuju GO" (Data GO), a WeChat public account that analyzes various publicly available data, pointed out that compared to previous Mays, the previous highest unemployment insurance fund expenditure was 17.46 billion yuan in May 2022. With the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions at the end of 2022, the May figure represents the highest payout since the end of the pandemic, with a 13.96% year-on-year increase.

Looking at the January-May period across previous years, the 2026 January-May unemployment insurance expenditure of 88.08 billion yuan set a new record high for the same period since data became available in 2013. The previous peak was 87.92 billion yuan in January-May 2020.

However, unemployment insurance fund revenue also increased during the same period. From January to May, unemployment insurance revenue was 88.7 billion yuan, and expenditures were 88.08 billion yuan, resulting in a cumulative net income of 620 million yuan, ending a streak of eight consecutive months with a net deficit.

The article stated that by the end of May 2026, the number of people insured under China's unemployment insurance scheme was 248.85 million, an increase of 1.62% year-on-year. The cumulative number of insured individuals decreased by 330,000 this year, which may reflect that the number of retirees is greater than the number of newly employed individuals paying unemployment insurance. Companies that can pay unemployment insurance are generally considered formal establishments. (Editor: Chou Hui-ying) 1150704

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