China reports lowest urban unemployment rate since 2008

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The unemployment rate in Chinese cities stood at 3.95 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2017, the lowest level since 2008, official data showed.

China created 10.97 million jobs in the first nine months of the year, 300,000 more than the same period last year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) announced Wednesday.

The job market has remained stable with the unemployment rate at its lowest level since the global financial crisis in 2008, Lu Aihong, a senior MHRSS official, said at a press conference.

China created 10.97 million new jobs in the first nine months of 2017. /VCG Photo

The unemployment rate is calculated on the number of jobless people who register with human resource authorities or employment services institutions.

Under a low unemployment rate and in the face of an overall slowdown in the economy, Yin Weimin, head of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, added that the Chinese job market is largely reliant on the new Internet economy and entrepreneurship.

China has maintained overall stability in employment in the past five years. /VCG Photo

Although many analysts say that the government figure is an unreliable indicator of national employment conditions, China’s official unemployment rate has remained generally stable as economic growth has dipped to a 26-year low and the government forges ahead with ambitious plans to cut back on industrial capacity.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in March that China created 13.14 million new urban jobs in 2016 and aims to add another 11 million this year, while keeping the registered unemployment rate below 4.5 percent.

In April, Beijing said it would need to resettle about half a million workers that lose jobs in the coal and steel sectors this year and will speed up development of a “black list” system for firms with wage arrears.

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