The per capita disposable income of Shenzhen citizens grew by 5.1 percent to reach 62,522.40 yuan in 2019. Per capita consumer spending grew by 2.9 percent to reach 43,112.65 yuan. Engel coefficient dropped to 29.4 percent.

Shenzhen has made greater efforts to safeguard people’s livelihood. Expenditures on improving people’s quality of life exceeded 300 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 9 percent. The expenditures on improving people’s quality of life exceeded 197 billion yuan by the end of June 2020. A total of 160,000 new jobs were created in 2019, and the urban registered unemployment rate dropped to 2.2 percent. The minimum wage standard was raised to 2,200 yuan per month, and the subsistence allowances for urban residents were raised to 1,250 yuan per month.

The development of education has been accelerated. By the end of 2019, the total number of schools at all levels in the city reached 2,642. In 2019, 21,000 seats in kindergartens and 52,000 seats in public primary and secondary schools as well as 78 inclusive private kindergartens were added. The city has added 139 public kindergartens (with 335 currently being reviewed). In addition, 96 percent of compulsory education schools offer lunches and in-campus lunch breaks. Shenzhen has also taken the lead in the monitoring results of national compulsory education quality in the whole province. Shenzhen is a leading city in terms of vocational education, with Shenzhen Polytechnic and Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology both selected into the country’s plans of building a batch of high-level vocational institutions and a batch of high-level majors. Shenzhen University, Southern University of Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Harbin Institute of Technoloy, Shenzhen were selected into a new round of provincial high-level universities and discipline construction plan. In July 2019, the first batch of 25 postgraduates graduated from Shenzhen MSU-BIT University. Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen and Shenzhen Technology University have begun recruiting undergraduates independently. The Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University was put in use in 2020. Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School got the go-ahead. Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenzhen University of Technology has been included in Guangdong Province’s plan on higher education development during the 13th Five-year Plan. Preparation for the establishment of Shenzhen Ocean University, Shenzhen Innovation and Creative Design Academy, Shenzhen Music Conservatory and Shenzhen Normal University is under way, and the planning of Xili Lake International Science and Education City is also progressing as scheduled.

Shenzhen has expedited the development of medical and health services. By the end of 2019, there were 4,513 health-care and medical institutions across the city, providing over 51,000 beds. Five hospitals were selected into the construction plan of provincial high-level hospitals and four 3A-rated and Grade-3 hospitals were added. The Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen has been approved as a national infectious diseases（tuberculosis）clinical medical research center. The Jihua Hospital and a tumor proton therapy center have started construction.Shenzhen Kangning Hospital Pingshan Branch, Shenzhen Pinghu Hospital, and Shenzhen Stomatology Hospital have started trial operation. Twenty high-level medical teams have been introduced and 49 community health centers have been opened. In addition, 75 percent of the city’s targeted groups have signed up for family doctor services. Shenzhen has also launched a number of projects for mothers, babies and children, such as free chickenpox and influenza vaccination for school-age children. An institute has been set up to offer health care and nursing education for serving the aged. Shenzhen Nursing Home was opened with an additional 1,000 beds.