Residents’Net Welfare
By the end of 2006, Shenzhen issued for the first time “Residents’ New Welfare Indicator System” to assess the effects of government’s use of funds and the concrete things the government did concerning people’s livelihood and well-being. The system takes into consideration and analyzes the residents’ existence, life and welfare conditions as well as their share of the social and economic development achievements. In 2007, the government will increase investments in related facilities and causes, and improve public services and the quality of residents’ life.
Residents’ Income
In 2006, the wages of employees were increased. The annual wages paid to on-job employees totaled 62.966 billion yuan. The average annual salary reached 35,107 yuan, up 8.1 percent over the previous year.
Residents’s Consumption
The level and quality of life of urban residents has improved steadily. Sample surveys showed that the per capita annual disposable income of urban residents reached 22,567 yuan, up 5 percent over the previous year. Excluding price factors, the actual increase was 2.7 percent. The per capita annual living expenditure was 16,628 yuan, up 4.5 percent over the previous year. Excluding price factors, the actual increase was 2.3 percent. The Engel coefficient for urban residents reached 33.3 percent.
Residents’ consumption structure changed rapidly, with cars and houses becoming hot products.
Residents’Deposits
In 1979, Shenzhen’s per capita bank deposit was 118 yuan. By the end of 2006, the outstanding deposits of Shenzhen residents reached 374.47 billion yuan.
Housing Area
By the end of 2006, the residents’ per capita housing area was 19.72 square meters, an increase of 1.42 square meters over the previous year.
Employment Shenzhen has constantly improved its employment service system. It has helped more than 70,000 people find jobs within a period of five years. The registered urban unemployment rate has been kept below 2.1 percent.
By the end of 2006, the minimum wage inside the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was 810 yuan per month and that in Bao’an and Longgang districts outside the SEZ was 700 yuan per month.
Social Security
The city’s social security system has constantly been improved. In 2006, residents of Bao’an and Longgang districts outside the Special Economic Zone were incorporated into the social security system. Social security for migrant workers has also been improved. By the end of 2006, 4, 259,300 people bought the basic old-age pension, and 1,594,800 people bought unemployment insurance.
Social Welfare Shenzhen has basically built a social welfare service network. There are social welfare centers for the old and children in all its six districts. The 18 former townships have also built old-age homes.
The city has more than 110,000 old people aged above 60. By the end of 2006, there were 27 social welfare centers with more than 2,000 beds for old people. That is: there were more than 3.4 beds for every 100 old people.
Legal Aid Every practicing lawyer in Shenzhen is required to handle two legal-aid cases each year.
The applicant for legal aid must have Shenzhen hukou or have lived in Shenzhen for at least one year and is proved incapable of affording lawyer’s fees. The application items must have reasons for legal aid. The applicant can obtain legal aid after passing legal-aid agencies’ assessment.
