Page 12 - REPORT ON THE EXECUTION OF THE CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2021 AND ON THE DRAFT CENTRAL AND LOCAL BUDGETS FOR 2022

vaccinations for all free of charge, with more than 85% of the population fully
vaccinated.

Comprehensively implementing the employment-first policy

We continued to implement the temporary policy of reducing premiums for
unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, and bolstered the policies of
expanding the coverage of unemployment insurance and refunding

unemployment insurance premiums to help enterprises maintain stable
employment. We further subsidized interest payments on guaranteed loans for
business startups, and supported large-scale vocational skills training. We

stabilized and expanded employment through a combination of measures, with
12.69 million new jobs created in the country’s urban areas.

Promoting the development of high-quality education
We consolidated and refined the unified, rurally-focused funding mechanism

for compulsory education in urban and rural areas. We increased subsidies for
providing nutritious meals to rural students in compulsory education, benefiting

more than 37 million students. We improved conditions at vocational schools, and
supported vocational colleges in surpassing their target for the three-year initiative
to expand enrollment. We promoted the intensive development of higher

education, and channeled spending on institutions of higher learning directly
under the central government toward basic research and the cultivation of
high-level talent. The national education assistance loan ceiling was increased by

4,000 yuan per student per annum, benefiting more than 5 million students.
Central government spending on student financial aid and subsidies increased by
14.7%, benefiting more than 34 million students.

Making greater efforts to meet people’s basic living needs

Basic pension benefits for retirees were increased by approximately 4.5%. The
centrally-regulated share of basic old-age insurance funds for enterprise employees
was raised to 4.5%. Government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and

non-working urban residents were increased to 580 yuan per person per year, and
those for basic public health services were increased to 79 yuan per person per year.
Outpatient bills for more common illnesses became reimbursable under the basic

medical insurance scheme, and 60% of out-of-province inpatient medical bills were
directly settled where those bills were incurred. Subsistence allowances were

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