China promotes ‘birth-friendly’ policy

Concerned about the falling birth rate, Shanghai – one of China’s largest cities – has just issued a policy encouraging employers to create “birth-friendly” positions to support workers. have small children. Previously, central and local governments had applied many measures such as relaxing the decades-long one-child policy, allowing people to have two children. However, last year, the country’s birth rate still fell to 1 child per woman, far below the replacement rate of 2.1. This is the birth rate for countries to maintain a stable population structure.

Rising costs of living in big cities, work pressure and changing attitudes of the younger generation are considered to be the reasons for this decline. In addition, the rapidly aging population also raises concerns about the long-term recovery ability of the world’s second largest economy.

According to a joint notice by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Social Security and Human Resources, businesses are encouraged to create “birth-friendly” positions. These are jobs with flexible working hours, remote work, and performance-based evaluation to suit the needs of parents. These rights and responsibilities will be formalized through contracts between employers and employees.

This policy targets emerging industries such as digital economy, creative niche markets, affiliate marketing, and multimedia. Besides, there are traditional fields such as manufacturing, hotels, food services and families…

The Shanghai government plans to establish a centralized list of employers offering birth-friendly positions, incorporating them into the public employment service. Additionally, job fairs and online recruitment platforms will have separate sections for family-friendly positions. Officials also encourage employers to clearly classify relevant posts.

Businesses need to prioritize creating conditions for mothers to return to the company after maternity leave. For occupations targeted by the new policy, officials will allocate subsidized training programs. Shanghai could add funding for training centers, child care services, elder care and digital skills training.

Shanghai’s announcement came after a similar move by Qingdao. Recently, the port city has introduced more than 1,000 job positions for mothers, providing flexibility in working hours and workload.

“This contributes to creating a positive atmosphere, building a fertility-friendly society, thereby enhancing people’s desire to have children,” said Dr. Luu Dien Vu, professor of sociology at the University. Wuhan, said.

Dr. Dich Phu Hien, an obstetrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, expressed reservations about the new policy. He believes that businesses will consider their economic interests first, because adjusting working hours for a specific group of people can reduce productivity. According to Mr. Dich, there are many problems causing China’s low birth rate. Even if the country creates parent-friendly positions, the birth rate is unlikely to increase rapidly.

As more cities adopt family-focused policies, experts will monitor their impact on birth rates. This measure shows that local authorities have changed the way they address population-related issues, focusing on work-life balance to encourage families to have children.

China is facing a population problem. China’s population over 60 years old will reach nearly 297 million in 2023, accounting for 21.1% of the country’s total population, according to a report by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and China’s National Commission on Aging. The population over 65 years old in 2023 is 216.76 million people, accounting for 15.4%.

The number of newborns this year is expected to continue to decrease. The total number of marriage registrations was 4.7 million in the first three quarters of this year, down 17% from the previous year.

Chinese health authorities in October launched a nationwide survey, especially focusing on rural communities and small towns, to find out why people hesitate to have children. The same month, China’s State Council announced a series of measures to improve the birth rate, including requiring cities to expand birth insurance coverage for migrant workers.