Ningbo municipal human resources and social security authorities recently unveiled a string of measures to stabilize employment amid the COVID-19 epidemic. 

Enterprises that have failed to pay their social security insurance on time may apply to defer payment until the end of this year. 

Special loans for SMEs will also be launched with interest rates 0.5 percent lower than last year.

In addition, SMEs will be granted a one-time subsidy of 3,000 yuan ($434.7) to hire a new employee.

The city will also slash water, electricity, and natural gas prices for companies, and SMEs leasing state-owned property in Ningbo will have their rents waived for three months.

Meanwhile, local public institutions and State-owned enterprises will be encouraged to hire more college graduates. The proportion of college graduates in positions at both public institutions and State-owned enterprises should be at least 50 percent.

The city will also kick off a national recruitment tour, holding 100 job fairs in 40 cities across the country, with the goal of bringing in more than 130,000 college students this year.

It plans to strengthen enterprise-school ties and offer internships to more than 10,000 graduates throughout the year.

More incentives will be also in place to encourage entrepreneurship in the city. In addition to subsidies, the upper limit for guaranteed loans for individual startups will be increased to 500,000 yuan.

The city's goal is to introduce 60,000 new market entities this year, offering jobs for 300,000 people.

In addition, local authorities will help people seek employment in a flexible manner, for example by allowing them to operate market stalls. 

The city aims to offer vocational training to more than 180,000 people throughout the year. 

Ningbo attracted a total of 130,000 college graduates to work in the city in 2019, up 65.2 percent over the previous year, according to data from the local human resources and social security department.

The satisfaction level among college students who work in the city is among the highest of any major city in the nation, according to surveys by third-party institutions such as human resource service provider zhaopin.com and Mycos Research Institute.