Apply for unemployment benefits online after losing a job
If both your employer and you have paid into yibao (basic medical insurance) for at least one year and you didn’t resign voluntarily, you can receive payments after registering as unemployed. For those with one to five years of contributions, the maximum payout period is 12 months; for five to ten years, it’s 18 months; and for ten years or more, it’s 24 months. During this time, your employee medical insurance premiums are covered by unemployment insurance.
There is no cost. You can submit the application via smart…
Eligibility requires three conditions: first, both your employer and you must have contributed to social insur…
There is no cost. You can submit the application via smartphone using any of three portals: the “12333” app, the e‑Social Security Card mini‑program in WeChat or Alipay, or the National Social Insurance Public Service Platform. Having a social security card or ID card is enough; in most regions you won’t need to visit a physical office. The prerequisite is completing unemployment registration first.
Eligibility requires three conditions: first, both your employer and you must have contributed to social insurance for at least one year; second, your separation from work must not be voluntary (legally termed “termination of employment not due to the individual’s own will”); third, you must have completed unemployment registration and be actively seeking employment. The duration of benefits depends on your contribution history: up to 12 months for 1–5 years of contributions, up to 18 months for 5–10 years, and up to 24 months for 10+ years. Monthly amounts are set by provincial governments, so they vary by region; they are always higher than the urban dibao (minimum living allowance) but lower than the local minimum wage. The national target is to raise these payments to 90% of the minimum wage over time. While receiving benefits, you remain enrolled in employee medical insurance, with all required premiums paid by the unemployment insurance fund — meaning you incur no personal expense for medical coverage (nationwide, effective since 1999 per regulations).
国务院 (1999). 失业保险条例（国务院令第 258 号，第十四、十七、十八条）. https://xzfg.moj.gov.cn/front/law/detail?LawID=517；人力资源社会保障部. 全国人社政务服务平台·失业保险待遇申领办事指南. https://www.12333.gov.cn/portal/common/bszn/sydysl?pfaId=202105281700000004；国家发展改革委就业司 (2022). 失业保险金标准，将逐步提高至最低工资的 90%. https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/fggz/jyysr/jysrsbxf/202206/t20220627_1328819.html；辽宁省人力资源和社会保障厅 (2019). 关于进一步调整失业保险金标准的通知：「为落实《人力资源社会保障部财政部关于调整失业保险金标准的指导意见》(人社部发〔2017〕71号〕"逐步将失业保险金标准提高到最低工资标准的90%"等要求」. https://rst.ln.gov.cn/rst/zfxx/zc/ywfl/shbx/2024092014161280895/index.shtml；全国人大常委会 (2010). 社会保险法（第四十八条）. https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c100009/c5192937/content.html（国家税务总局政策法规库）
Open source linkThose who voluntarily resign on their own initiative are not considered to have left 'not due to their own will' and are ineligible to receive benefits. During the benefit period, your employee medical insurance will be paid on your behalf by the unemployment insurance. Amounts vary significantly across different provinces; please refer to the official figures published by the place where you are insured. 'Minimum wage 90%' is derived from the guiding opinions issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance in 2017 (MOHRSS Document [2017] No. 71); the original wording is 'gradually increase the standard of unemployment insurance benefits to 90% of the minimum wage standard.' This is a target, not a current payment rate of 90%. The original page on the official MOHRSS website cannot be opened on this machine; this sentence has been verified against the citation in the Liaoning Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security documents.