Homemaking Industry Boosts Rural Revitalization

By Liu Xinwei

W ith the continuous improvement of people’s living standards， the accelerated pace of life， the increasingly aging population， the implementation of the three-child policy and other factors， there are more and more parents who have to provide for the elderly and raise child（ren） at the same time， leading to tight supply in the homemaking industry.

In this context， the Ministry of Commerce， the National Development and Reform Commission， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security， the National Rural Revitalization Administration and other 14 departments issued the Rural Revitalization Action Plan through Homemaking Industry（2021–2025） （the Plan）， to boost highquality development of the entire industry， to meet both urban and rural demand for homemaking services and to accelerate rural revitalization， by covering every aspect of the transfer of rural labor to urban areas， and focusing on the supply-side structural reform in homemaking service industry.

The market growth rate of maternity and child industries， elderly services home care is obvious

According to 2021 Analysis Report on the Development of China Homemaking Services Industry and Investment Opportunities （the Report）， the size of the homemaking service market in China continued to grow in recent years， reaching RMB 878.2 billion in 2020， marking an increase of about 26.0% year-on-year， and is expected to exceed RMB one trillion in 2021. As the industry continues to expand， the number of homemaking service enterprises increases. As of now， there are more than 2 million homemaking enterprises in China， involving more than 30 million employees， of which about nine out of ten are from rural areas.

At present， the penetration of homemaking services is high in China， namely as high as 74% of users have utilized homemaking services. Meanwhile， the business scope continues to expand， too， from traditional simple labor services to knowledge and skill-based services. As the Report indicated， traditional housekeeping services were the most popular homemaking scenario， accounting for 54.9%. Along with the changing social demographic structure， maternal and infant care/maternity services and elderly care service are getting more popular， with a usage of 26.0% and 18.0% respectively， becoming emerging usage scenarios.

With the rapid development of the homemaking service industry， the average salary in this industry has grown too. According to the Report， from 2015 to 2020， the average salary of homemaking service workers in China continued to grow， to about RMB 9，000 per month in 2020， up about 28% from that in 2019. In 2021， the salary ranges between RMB 2，000 and 20，000 per month， with the range of RMB 6，000 to 8，000 per month accounting for the largest number of employees， 24.4% of the total. The Report expected further increases in the average salary of homemaking service industry in the future. Relatively high payment and a promising future may attract more to this industry.

Despite the booming industry， there is still a shortage of more than 20 million employees in the homemaking service industry in China， meaning the industry should continue to dig the potential for development， especially to attract surplus labor from rural areas. According to the Report， the homemaking service market in China has a bright future and there will be firm demand for talent. Grasping the opportunities is of great importance to the development of the industry， and the improvement in rural employment.

The Plan was issued at the right time

Therefore， it can be said that the Plan was issued at the right time. Zhu Guangyao， a tier-two inspector from Ministry of Commerce， said： “Rural revitalization through homemaking services is conducive to consolidating the achievements in poverty alleviation， to promoting supply-side structural reform in the homemaking service industry for high-quality development， and also to meeting demand for urban and rural homemaking services， bringing more momentum to the industry.”

As the Plan suggested， by 2025， there will be a smoother channel for rural laborers， especially those who have recently got out of poverty， to engage in homemaking services， the role of homemaking service industry in improving employment and the livelihood and in consolidating the achievements in poverty alleviation will be significantly enhanced， homemaking service enterprises will establish brands and an IT-based， special and standardized system for homemaking services， and the tight supply in homemaking service market will be significantly eased， resulting in a higher satisfaction.

To realize these goals， the Plan listed 22 initiatives in three aspects. The first is to strengthen the support to groups in need， namely actively preventing them from slipping back into poverty through village committees and other grass-root governments and providing policy support directly to those who are willing to engage in homemaking services. Meanwhile， improving public services in villages， such as the release of job information on homemaking services.

Second is to smoothen the connection between the supply and demand sides. The governments in eastern China should match the supply and demand of labor for the homemaking service industry as part of the East-West collaboration and partner assistance， to build a long-term assistant mechanism， while innovating cooperation between governments and enterprises， guiding and encouraging local homemaking industry associations and leading enterprises in labor force importing regions to carry out deep cooperation with the governments in exporting regions， especially in regions just out of poverty. Besides， local governments and enterprises should develop an online platform to match the supply and demand， and construct labor export bases for homemaking service industry， to carry out vocational skill training， and give a one-time bonus if applicable. Meanwhile， for eligible homemaking service enterprises， local governments can provide supports like social security subsidies， business loans and interest subsidies and so on， and encourage guarantees by governmental financing institutions.

Third is to further explore homemaking service markets. Together with rural entrepreneurship leader training program， local governments should pay attention to vocational training， conduct large homemaking service enterprises and platforms explore the market in towns and counties through chain operation， Internet+ homemaking services， and implement national vocational skills upgrading projects for rural revitalization in key areas， by focusing on rural low-income families， and vigorously bringing up professional managers and trainers.

Make up for shortcomings

For a long time， there has been an imbalance between supply and demand in the homemaking service industry. From the supply side， many remote villages can’t sustain continuous labor force export due to inconvenient transportation， lack of skills and other factors， meaning there are difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified employees； from the demand side， consumers often feel it is a challenge to find the right or an adequately qualified worker. In one word， there is still no unified standard or sound industrialized systems for the homemaking service industry， nor an integrated market.

In this regard， the Plan provided countermeasures correspondingly.

In terms of the business environment， it is to protect the legitimate rights and interests， namely paying more attention to mediating disputes involving the rights and interests of homemaking service workers， to protect their rights and interests like labor payment and social insurance， and investigating and penalizing illegal behavior of homemaking service enterprises such as arrears of wages. Besides， the governments should further improve job security， encouraging homemaking service platforms and enterprises to actively purchase relevant commercial insurance for their employees， while take care of vulnerable groups， like left-behind children in rural areas， those who have escaped from poverty， and those who are from lowincome rural families to attend vocational colleges （including technical colleges）.

As for the industry norms， local governments should regulate employment， by developing and promoting standard labor contracts and service agreements for employee-based homemaking service enterprises， urging Internet-based platform enterprises to reasonably assume responsibility， in order to protect rights and interests of workers in new employment forms in the homemaking service sector. Besides， the industry should accelerate the development of standard systems for homemaking services， and standards for e-commerce， training， credit systems and so on， while establishing standard certification mechanisms like quality certification the results of which can be used for corporate and public credit evaluation. Furthermore， with a credit system integrating national， local and corporate platforms， enterprises with higher credit scores can be selected and praised with more support， including credit loans.

From the perspective of new industry and new business modes， local governments should guide and encourage large homemaking service enterprises to accelerate digital transformation， conduct and regulate large e-commerce platforms to develop homemaking service market， call for credit information sharing among Internet-based homemaking service enterprises to improve business efficiency， invite Internetbased homemaking enterprises to participate in the formulation of digital homemaking service standards， to promote the standardization of online homemaking services， and the integrated development of business modes like community elderly care， children care， property， postpartum care centers and community retail， based on the advantage of these platforms.