Multiple Departments Issue 19 Measures to Boost High-Quality Domestic Service Industry

The Ministry of Commerce, together with several other departments, recently issued a set of policies and measures to promote the high-quality development of the domestic service industry. The measures, covering five key areas – enterprise relief, local pilot programs, vocational training, credit system, and infrastructure – comprise 19 specific initiatives. The domestic service industry in China has surpassed RMB 1 trillion in scale, employing over 30 million people, and continues to grow. As the population ages, demand for infant and childcare services rises, and the pace of life accelerates, needs for elderly care, childcare, and daily housekeeping are steadily increasing. On the supply side, industry players are expanding, and service categories are becoming more diverse. Some domestic service companies are upgrading digitally and adopting standardized training to become more standardized and professional, while also developing new services such as in-home cooking, organization services, and appliance cleaning, which are popular among younger customers. Some companies have set up fixed service stations in communities, offering services such as one-hour daily cleaning, meal assistance, and escort services for medical visits and bathing.

In terms of credit system development, the Ministry of Commerce has established a domestic service credit platform that includes an information database, a worker portal, a consumer portal, and a data network. The platform has collected credit information on over 20,000 enterprises and more than 9 million domestic service workers, helping to alleviate information asymmetry between supply and demand. Going forward, the platform will be optimized to make the process seamless, information more valuable, and services more inclusive, reducing redundant data entry, improving information sharing among departments, and providing standardized integration solutions for small and medium-sized domestic service enterprises. To address the pain point of spending high prices yet receiving poor service, the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments, has formulated 7 national standards and 17 industry standards for the domestic service sector, and has supported 39 enterprises in participating in national standardization pilot projects. The next step is to accelerate the revision of the national standard for grading and evaluation of domestic service agencies, support industry associations and third-party organizations in conducting evaluations, and explore incorporating mature indicators from service standards into vocational skill standards.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will advance a special vocational skills training initiative for domestic service workers, implementing a project-based training model that integrates job demand, skills training, skills assessment, and employment services to improve training quality and effectiveness.