SMALL businesses hiring local graduates will receive a subsidy toward social insurance payments under a new policy to promote graduate employment, city authorities said yesterday.

And college graduates can get a monthly subsidy to encourage them to start their own businesses, the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Securities Bureau said.

Under the policy, small and micro companies can get a monthly subsidy of 520 yuan (US$85) for each graduate employee for one year, while self-employed graduates can receive 630 yuan per month for two years.