Labor insurance is a system of social security in China. It is a series of systems that provide material assistance to laborers in case of difficulties due to old age, illness, disability, unemployment, etc. through the distribution and redistribution of national income, so as to ensure their basic livelihood. The main function of the labor security system is to ensure the occupational safety of workers, thus ensuring the stability of workers and their families, social stability, and ensuring the overall social and economic development and social progress.

1. Government-unit-type labor security subject

During the planned economy period, except for a few relief projects in China, such as rural five-guarantee relief, most of the security projects were undertaken by the state through the government administrative system and state-owned enterprises and institutions. The items, standards and objects of security are uniformly stipulated by the state, and the security fund is directly deducted by the state from the profits turned over to the state by finance or state-owned and collective enterprises and authorized to be directly controlled by state-owned units. The state is almost the only provider of labor security resources and the only undertaker of security responsibility. It can be seen that the labor security system in the planned economy period is a government-based labor security system, which is not a real social security system.

2. The dual labor security structure of urban-rural separation

adapts to the dual economic structure of urban and rural areas. During the planned economy period, China's labor security system also showed obvious dual structural characteristics of urban-rural separation. Specifically, most of the national labor security expenditure is used for the safety protection of employees and even their families in urban enterprises and institutions. Urban residents can enjoy the safety protection of life, old age, illness and death, while farmers who account for more than 8% of the national population are largely isolated from the security system.

3. Welfare security system closely linked to employment

Under the traditional planned economy system, China's labor security system is closely linked to employment. That is, once a worker is employed in a certain unit, he can have all welfare benefits, while unemployment loses all welfare benefits. On the one hand, workers are encouraged to do everything possible to occupy their jobs, rather than "voluntarily unemployed"; On the other hand, employers are required not to dismiss employees at will. Obviously, China's traditional labor security system serves the employment goal of eliminating unemployment. This is completely different from the social security system under the market economy system.

4. Management system with multiple policies and rigid operation

During the planned economy period, there were as many as a dozen departments only involved in labor security management in China, and there was no unified decision-making and management system, resulting in multiple policies, multiple management, fragmented management, and even mutual prevarication and wrangling. At the same time, the operating mechanism of China's traditional labor security system is also very rigid. Although there are many management departments to raise funds for security and adjust security standards, because of "no water control" and no legal adjustment mechanism matching with social and economic development indicators, it is ultimately up to the central government to make decisions.