China's surveyed unemployment rate drops in August

BEIJING - China's surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 5.6 percent in August, 0.1 percentage points lower than that of July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.

A total of 7.81 million new urban jobs were created in the first eight months of the year, down 2.03 million from the same period last year, said the NBS.

The surveyed unemployment rate in the 25-59 age group, which accounts for the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.8 percent in August, down 0.2 percentage points from July.

Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.7 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage points from that of July, according to the NBS.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas, including migrant workers in cities.

China will give priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring living standards this year, aiming to add over 9 million new urban jobs and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 6 percent, according to the government work report.