On the 25th, Luo Zhiguang, Secretary for labour and welfare of the HKSAR government, announced the launch of the "2022 employment protection" plan, with a total financial commitment of about HK $43 billion, which will benefit about 1.6 million employees and about 140000 self-employed people, so as to achieve the effect of "supporting enterprises" and "ensuring employment". Luo Zhiguang said that since January this year, the number of unemployed people in Hong Kong has risen. On 18 March, the chief executive of the SAR announced the launch of the "2022 employment guarantee" scheme under the "epidemic prevention and anti epidemic fund", which provides wage subsidies for employers for a period of three months, that is, may, June and July this year. Luo Zhiguang said that the "employment protection in 2022" plan will benefit about 1.6 million employees and about 140000 self-employed people. It is estimated that the subsidy amount of relevant subsidies is about HK $39 billion, and the total financial commitment after taking into account the emergency funds is about HK $43 billion. The Finance Committee of the SAR Legislative Council has approved the appropriation. Luo Zhiguang said that the SAR government hopes to launch the "2022 employment protection" plan at this time to give employers more flexibility and better protect the interests of employees. The application will be accepted from April 29 for a period of two weeks. The first batch of grants is expected to be distributed in early May. (Xinhua News Agency)