China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Tuesday that it has allocated additional 10 billion yuan (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in central budgetary funds to strengthen the role of work-relief programs in promoting employment and income growth for key groups.

The funds will support 26 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in implementing 1,975 projects, which are expected to generate a total of 4.59 billion yuan in labor remuneration, helping 310,000 key individuals stabilize their employment and increase their incomes.

By the end of June, the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance had jointly allocated 29.5 billion yuan for work-relief programs in 2025, supporting localities in implementing nearly 6,000 projects. These projects are expected to absorb and employ over 700,000 people in need, with more than 11 billion yuan in labor remuneration to be distributed.

These work-relief programs are designed for individuals in need of employment, particularly rural residents who have been lifted out of poverty, vulnerable individuals prone to returning to poverty, migrant workers who have returned to their hometowns, and other members of the rural labor force.

In the future, the NDRC will guide localities in normalizing project management and strengthening the role of work-relief programs in counter-cyclical adjustment, stabilizing employment and boosting income growth, it said.