12.06 million new jobs created in China last year, 1 million more than target

Last year, 12.06 million new jobs were created in urban areas in China, surpassing the target of 11 million, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS said at a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday that the national surveyed unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points month-on-month to 5.5 percent in December.

The surveyed unemployment rate among young people aged between 16 to 24 also saw a decrease that month to 16.7 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from November.

According to the NBS, the average surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, was 6.1 percent in December, a reduction of 0.6 percentage points on the previous month.

The NBS said that both the numbers and incomes of migrant workers registered growth in 2022, rising by 3.11 million to 295.6 million, and earning a monthly average income of 4,615 yuan ($683), up 4.1 percent year-on-year.