Beijing raises subsidies for employers of disabled people

BEIJING - The Beijing municipal government has increased subsidies for employers of disabled people to encourage employment of disadvantaged groups.

Beginning this month, employers of disabled people in Beijing will receive annual subsidies up to eight-times the amount of the capital's minimum wage, an increase of 140 percent.

"The subsidy for each disabled person we employ has been raised from 7,000 yuan to 16,000 yuan (from $1,076 to $2,461). This will benefit 50 of our employees," said Guo Dapeng, general-manager of a medical technology company.

The subsidies can be used for income, welfare, social security, insurance, vocational training for the disabled, as well as improving wheelchair accessible facilities in the workplace.

"The new policy lessens the burden of employers of disabled people and will raise their willingness to hire more of them," said Wang Yuenan, an employee with the Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation.

As of May this year, Beijing had 188,600 registered disabled people at working age, with 58,300 of them unemployed.