Income level of people with disabilities in China sees steady improvement

BEIJING -- The annual net income of families with disabled members in China grew at an average rate of 6.9 percent per year from 2020 to 2023, roughly matching the pace of the country's GDP growth, a senior Chinese official said Tuesday.

Cheng Kai, chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, made the remarks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), people with disabilities in China have also seen their job opportunities expanding, said Cheng. He noted that a total of 2.31 million persons with disabilities were newly employed during the period, adding that many have secured jobs in emerging industries, such as online platforms.

According to Li Dongmei, the federation's vice-chairperson, more than 400,000 persons with disabilities were newly employed every year during the period. The employment rate of the disabled population grew by nearly 5 percentage points.

In addition, a total of 2.17 million persons with disabilities were organized to receive vocational training, which significantly improved the quality of their employment, said Li.