Chinese authorities have decided that policy changes are needed as amendment to China’s one-child policy may affect family dynamics, according to an article on cri.english.cn.
"The implementation of the policy will optimize the demographic structure, increase the labor supply, ease pressure from an aging population, promote a balanced development of the population and help improve the health of the overall economy," said National Health and Family Planning Commission Minister Li Bin.
It was not clear, however, how the changes to the one-child policy will affect individual families, the report said.
According to the report, people living in the city without a hukou, or Beijing residency permit, have to consider the issue when thinking of having a second child. People without a hukou do not have access to social benefits that those with residency permit enjoy.
Another issue is the shift in the social dynamic in China brought about by the one-child policy. Rising prices caused by market economy have increased the cost of living in large cities in China.
Another factor that young couples have to consider is the effect on employment.
Fan Juan, married five years ago, and employed at a research center with predominantly women staff, said that she decided not to have a child because employers also take family dynamics into consideration when they hire people.
"My job is not overly stressful. Still, employers are taking childbirth into consideration," Fan said. "My current boss told me during the recruitment interview that I have a promising future in my field, but said it would be best for me not to have baby for at least three years."
Yang Changgang, demographics expert with the Southwestern University of Finance, said that there must be stronger maternity laws.
"For female workers, there needs to be policies to protect them during both their pregnancy and during their nursing period to ensure that their income and career advancement won't be affected by having a child," Yang said.
Yang Juhua, a professor of socio-demographics at Renmin University, said that employers need to be proactive and think ahead of the two-child policy.
"Large and medium-sized companies should coordinate with their local communities to find child-care services for their employees," Yang said. "If that's not an option, companies should then consider setting up a nursery at their firm."
Yang, however, said that although this is convenient for employees, it can be costly for employers, adding that the government can help companies by offering family-friendly policies.
"A tax cut could be feasible. All companies have to pay taxes. But if the authorities can provide tax cuts to companies based on the proportion of female employees they have and how many are going to have a second child, it could be an incentive for employers to make family-friendly changes," Yang added.
China's population is expected to grow by an additional 20 million per year as the two-child policy takes effect, which means that around 30million people will be joining the work force every year by 2050.
China's population is expected to increase from 1.34 billion to 1.45 billion in the next 15 years.