China adds 10.52 million urban jobs in first nine months of 2026

A total of 10.52 million new urban jobs were created in China in the first nine months of 2026, achieving 87.8% of the country's annual target, an official from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Saturday.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2% in the first eight months, indicating that the overall employment situation remained stable, said Li Zhong, vice minister of human resources and social security, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing. 

Li said China will roll out a series of initiatives to support employment, including programs targeting university graduates and other young people, as well as measures to improve employment quality for flexible workers and those in new forms of employment in the future.

Other initiatives will include employment promotion efforts tailored to the development of artificial intelligence, a vocational training campaign, measures to boost employment among migrant workers and initiatives to expand access to high-quality public employment services, Li added.

China will continue to prioritize employment and work toward achieving higher-quality and fuller employment, he said.

Li also said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will work with other relevant ‌departments on policy documents to promote employment through service sector development, enabling the service sector to better act as the main channel for absorbing jobs

China's service sector has become the primary driver of job creation, covering about 50% of the country's total workforce by the end of 2025, up from 48.8% a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In recent years, new forms of employment, including livestream hosts, delivery riders and ride-hailing drivers, have emerged, diversifying the workforce amid the rapid expansion of the service sector.