The number

3.44 million

China's employed population in urban areas increased by 3.44 million in the first quarter of this year, with the jobless rate remaining low, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Friday. The figure was slightly higher than the same period last year, though from January to March, the country's economic growth dipped to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2012. By the end of March, the country's registered urban unemployment rate stood at 4.08 percent, slightly lower than that of last year, ministry spokesman Li Zhong told a news conference.