Lu Aihong, spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, is at a press conference on July 23. (Photo/China New Service)
(ECNS) - Employment in China continued on a path of stability and progress in the first half of the year, with the rate of urban registered unemployment falling to 3.83 percent, said Lu Aihong, spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, at a press conference on Monday.
Lu said that from January to June, 7.52 million new jobs were created in urban areas, an increase of 170,000 over the same period last year.
The registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 3.83 percent at the end of March, a multi-year low, and at end-June 2017 it was 3.95 percent.
Data also showed a dynamic market with the demand-to-supply ratio reaching 1.23, meaning more job opportunities than job seekers, said Lu.
Figures also showed that by the end of the second quarter, the total number of rural migrant workers in the country reached 180 million, an increase of 1.49 million over the same period last year, or a rise of 0.8 percent, said the official, adding “this is also very encouraging."
Lu also said that some of the 8.2 million college graduates this year had not found jobs and that economic development faces uncertainties.
The ministry will introduce three measures to promote the employment of college graduates including a real-name registration system for the unemployed as well as targeted training and other services, said Lu.
