China's surveyed urban unemployment rate at 5.5 pct in Q1

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.5 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, official data showed Monday.

The figure edged up 0.1 percentage points from the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

A total of 2.85 million new urban jobs were created during the period, according to the NBS.

While the complex global situation and sporadic domestic COVID-19 resurgences weighed on employment, China's job market has remained generally stable since the beginning of this year thanks to its employment-first policy and ever-increasing support for struggling businesses, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference.

Fu said China's job market will benefit from the nation's effective control of COVID-19, policies to bolster market entities, as well as enhanced professional training.

Chinese authorities have pledged measures to channel more unemployment insurance funds to underpin employment and training, and provide job seekers with no fewer than 1 million internship openings this year.

In March, China's surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from February, while the rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 5.2 percent.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities came in at 6 percent in March, according to the data.

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 aims to create over 11 million new urban jobs and keep a surveyed urban unemployment rate of no more than 5.5 percent in 2022, according to a government work report.