Apply online for unemployment insurance benefits as soon as you lose your job
If you and your employer have contributed for at least one year and you did not leave voluntarily, you may claim after registering as unemployed. Contributions of one to under five years allow up to 12 months of benefits; five to under ten years, up to 18 months; and ten years or more, up to 24 months. While you receive the benefit, the unemployment insurance fund pays your employee medical-insurance contribution.
What it takes
Free. Apply by phone through the Zhangshang 12333 app, the electronic social-security-card mini-program in WeChat or Alipay, or the National Social Insurance Public Service Platform. A social security card or resident identity card is generally sufficient, and most areas do not require an in-person visit. Complete unemployment registration first.
What you may gain
Three conditions must be met: at least one cumulative year of unemployment insurance contributions by you and your employer; involuntary interruption of employment; and completed unemployment registration with a willingness to seek work. Maximum benefit periods are 12, 18, or 24 months for contribution histories of one to under five years, five to under ten years, or ten years and above. Provincial governments set monthly amounts, which differ by province. The amount must be below the local minimum wage and above the urban minimum-living-assistance standard. The national policy goal is a gradual increase to 90% of the local minimum wage. While receiving unemployment benefits, you remain enrolled in employee basic medical insurance and retain its benefits. The unemployment insurance fund pays the required basic medical-insurance contribution, with no personal payment. This is a nationwide Chinese framework; the regulations took effect in 1999.
Context & considerations
A voluntary resignation generally does not meet the involuntary-unemployment condition. Employee medical insurance is paid by the unemployment fund during benefit receipt. Provincial payment amounts vary considerably; check the place where you are insured. The 90%-of-minimum-wage target originated in a 2017 ministry guidance document. The original ministry and central-government pages were unavailable to the source author, so the document number remains unverified.
Research & references
State Council (1999). Unemployment Insurance Regulations, Order 258, Articles 14, 17, and 18. https://xzfg.moj.gov.cn/front/law/detail?LawID=517; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. National public-service platform guide to claiming unemployment insurance benefits. https://www.12333.gov.cn/portal/common/bszn/sydysl?pfaId=202105281700000004; National Development and Reform Commission, Employment Department (2022). Gradually raising unemployment insurance benefits to 90% of the minimum wage. https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/fggz/jyysr/jysrsbxf/202206/t20220627_1328819.html; Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2010). Social Insurance Law, Article 48, reproduced in the State Taxation Administration’s legislation database. https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c100009/c5192937/content.html.