Economy

China's unemployment rate falls to 4.1% by Q3

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-22 11:36

BEIJING - China's urban unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent at the end of September, with 9.05 million urbanites registered as unemployed, a Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security official said Friday.

The rate dropped 0.1 percentage points from 4.2 percent at the end of the second quarter this year, Yin Chengji, spokesman of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), told a press conference.

In the first nine months of this year, a total of 9.31 million new jobs were created in urban areas, exceeding the annual target of 9 million for 2010.

At the end of 2009, China's registered unemployment rate was 4.3 percent. The government aims to keep the urban registered unemployment rate below 4.6 percent this year.

Related readings:  Unemployment rate remains steady  US unemployment rate rises to 9.6 percent in Aug  China's unemployment rate stands at 4.2%  China urban unemployment rate 4.3% in 2009

The Chinese government has taken measures to boost employment this year, particular helping university graduates and migrant workers from rural areas finding jobs through internships and vocational training, according to Yin.

Some 12.54 million people joined government-subsidized vocational training programs in the first nine months this year, of which 4.71 million were migrant workers, he said.

About 390,000 university graduates received vocational training while 790,000 received lessons on how to start businesses, said Yin.

By the end of last month, 30 of the 31 mainland provincial regions had raised the minimum wage level this year, with an average increase of 24 percent.

After the wage hikes, the average highest minimum wage in the 31 provincial regions on the Chinese mainland was 870 yuan per month ($130), said Yin.

Currently China's employment situation is "stable," said Yin.