After losing a job, apply online for unemployment insurance benefits first

If your employer and you have paid for a full 1 year, and you did not resign on your own, then after unemployment registration and if you are willing to look for work, you can receive money. With under 5 years of contributions after that full 1 year, you can receive for at most 12 months; with a full 5 years but under 10 years, at most 18 months; with 10 years or more, at most 24 months. While you receive benefits, employee medical insurance is paid for you by unemployment insurance.

Cost

No money spent. You can submit the application on a phone through any of three portals: the "Zhangshang 12333" (掌上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 ID card is enough; in most regions you need not go in person. The prerequisite is completing unemployment registration first.

Benefit

All three conditions must be met. First, your employer and you must have paid unemployment insurance for a cumulative full 1 year. Second, you did not resign on your own (the legal term is “employment interrupted not due to the person’s own will”). Third, you have completed unemployment registration and are willing to seek work. How long you can receive depends on contribution years. Cumulative full 1 year but under 5 years: at most 12 months. Full 5 years but under 10 years: at most 18 months. 10 years or more: at most 24 months. The monthly amount is set by the provincial government and differs by province. It is below the local minimum wage and above urban dibao. The national goal is to raise it gradually to 90% of the minimum wage. While receiving unemployment benefits, you still participate in employee basic medical insurance and enjoy its benefits. The basic medical insurance premiums due are paid from the unemployment insurance fund; you pay nothing personally (nationwide; the regulations have been in force since 1999)

Notes

Resigning on your own does not count as “not due to the person’s own will,” so you cannot receive benefits. When leaving a job, do not sign “voluntary resignation for personal reasons” — see Section 19, item 7. Unemployment benefits are counted from the day you complete unemployment registration; register late and you get money late. The first thing after leaving is to register. Registration needs the termination certificate issued by the employer — see Section 19, item 17 (termination certificate). Whether to keep a non-compete and what to do if the company pays no compensation — see Section 11, item 12 (signed a non-compete). While you receive benefits, employee medical insurance is paid for you by unemployment insurance. Amounts differ a lot by province; follow what the place where you are insured publishes. The “90% of minimum wage” wording comes from a 2017 guidance opinion of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance (人社部发〔2017〕71 号); the original text says “gradually raise the unemployment insurance benefit standard to 90% of the minimum wage standard.” That is a goal, not the amount paid today. The original page on the ministry site could not be opened locally; this sentence was checked against a citation in a Liaoning provincial human resources and social security department document.

Sources · 5

1. 国务院 (1999). 失业保险条例（国务院令第 258 号，第十四、十六、十七、十八条；第十六条：「失业保险金自办理失业登记之日起计算」）. xzfg.moj.gov.cn/front/law/detail?LawID=517
2. 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. 12333.gov.cn/portal/common/bszn/sydysl?pfaId=…
3. 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%. ndrc.gov.cn/fggz/jyysr/jysrsbxf/202206/t20220…
4. 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」. rst.ln.gov.cn/rst/zfxx/zc/ywfl/shbx/202409201…
5. 全国人大常委会 (2010). 社会保险法（第四十八条）. fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c100009/c5192937/co…（国家税务总局政策法规库）