Employer of record in China
25 sourced figures on hiring in China, drawn from 9 sources and normalized for comparison: statutory rules, employer cost and exactly what an EOR covers locally. Every figure is dated.
Hiring here: complex, mid-range on cost, and fast to hire via EOR.
Employer of record in China: the statutory snapshot
The headline employer costs, pay floor and worker protections for hiring in China through an employer of record, each figure sourced and dated. 44 EOR providers cover China.
| Minimum wage | CNY 1,930/mo | ILOSTAT, 2024-01-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Employer social security | 24.61% | ISSA Country Profiles, 2024-01-01 |
| Corporate tax | 25% | OECD |
| Notice period | 4.3 weeks | ILO EPLex, 2026-01-01 |
| Severance | 23.1 weeks | ILO EPLex, 2026-01-01 |
| Annual leave | 5 days | Perplexity (AI gap-fill), 2026-01-01 |
| Public holidays | 13 days | Perplexity (AI gap-fill), 2026-01-01 |
| Maternity leave | 14 weeks | Perplexity (AI gap-fill), 2026-01-01 |
As of 2026-08-30. Each value is the winning figure from primary and harmonized sources, resolved by a documented priority chain. Full record with provenance below.
Reading the data
What the figures say about China
Employers in China pay a statutory minimum wage of CNY 1,930 per month against an average monthly wage of CNY 5,436, giving a clear picture of the wage floor relative to typical payroll costs. On top of base pay, employers carry a social security contribution rate of 24.61%, while employees contribute a further 11%, making total social charges a significant share of the employment cost. The statutory working week is set at 40 hours, though recorded actual weekly hours stood at 45, pointing to a gap between legal limits and practice. Separation costs are material: statutory severance runs to 23.1 weeks and the notice period to 4.3 weeks, so exit planning deserves attention from the start of a hire. Maternity leave stands at 14 weeks and there is no statutory paternity leave, while annual leave begins at just 5 days, supplemented by 13 public holidays. The corporate tax rate is 25% and the top personal income tax rate reaches 45%, both relevant when structuring compensation for higher-earning employees. China's labour force totals 767.6 million people, with union density at 44.25% and collective bargaining coverage at 45% as of 2017, figures that bear on how employment terms are set in practice.
Where to start
Three ways to hire in China
You are the employer. Lowest per head cost at scale, months to establish.
You direct the work, the provider's local entity is the employer on paper. Compliant in days.
See the 44 providers below ↓Not your employee. Fastest and cheapest, with misclassification exposure.
The full record
Every figure behind the snapshot
Not a guide, a record: 25 figures for China from 9 sources, last refreshed 2026-08-30. Each value carries its source and the date it was pulled. Hover any provenance tag for the full chain.
The differentiator
What an EOR handles in China
An EOR removes the entity and the payroll machinery. It does not remove your obligations as the people manager.
Provider × country
Who can employ in China
44 providers operate an EOR in China, ranked by Select Score.
Comparing EOR options for China?
Run a side-by-side on the providers that actually operate there.