The labor shortage was basically relieved as employment number in Shenzhen reached 11.28 million by the end of March, almost equal to the number in January, statistics from the Shenzhen Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau showed.

The work resumption and production resumption rates of Shenzhen had reached 94.8 percent and 97 percent, respectively, higher than those of the Guangdong Province average of 86.7 percent and 94.8 percent.

In February and March, the city had exempted 9 billion yuan (US$1.27 billion) in social insurance fees for 795,600 businesses.

To solve the labor shortage, the bureau reorganized labor users among enterprises, employed laborers from other cities in the province and from other provinces. In inter-province cooperation, the bureau sent six teams to labor-intensive provinces and induced 25,670 laborers including 8,446 from Hubei Province to return to work. Through job fairs, it also organized 60,000 laborers from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to work in the city.

Through cooperation with the city’s financial department, the bureau refunded 4.8 billion yuan to 488,700 enterprises to help retain jobs. The bureau also implemented a 1,000-yuan subsidy per person for enterprises engaging in the production of anti-virus materials.

Employees under quarantine or medical treatment can also get subsidies up to 50 percent of their salaries. By April 14, a total of 520 enterprises had applied 2.63 million yuan for their 2,843 employees. The bureau also increased subsidies for on-the-job training from 900 yuan to 1,500 yuan.

So far, 883 enterprises had been approved under a subsidy program that involved 190,000 employees.

In 2019, a total of 102,000 college graduates from outside of Shenzhen settled down in the city. Under measures to encourage entrepreneurship and startup businesses, college students who have graduated within the past two years and plan to start a business in Shenzhen are eligible to apply for an entrepreneurial secured loan, which has increased to 600,000 yuan.

They can altogether apply for the loan three times in nine years. They can also enjoy full subsidies for the interest of the loan when they pay it back with interest. To solve unemployment difficulties, the city has also increased job seeking subsides from 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan.

The bureau has developed a three-month online job fair by offering 20,000 vacancies and has organized 9,000 students from vocational schools to receive on-the-job training through internships at business enterprises. So far, 90 percent of 8,600 graduates from vocational schools have reached agreements for employment, including some that have been offered places at BGI, Tencent and Han’s Laser.