China's surveyed urban unemployment rate drops in 2021

China's job market remained generally stable in 2021, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent, 0.5 percentage points lower than the same period in the previous year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

A total of 12.69 million new urban jobs were created during the year, an increase of 830,000 compared with 2020, Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS, told a press conference.

Last year's new urban jobs over-fulfilled the annual goal and the surveyed urban unemployment rate was lower than the around 5.5-percent target, according to Ning.

Ning attributed the stable job market partly to the job creation fueled by China's continuous economic recovery and development as well as the country's pro-employment policy which had a positive effect on the employment of college graduates and rural migrant workers.

New employment forms spurred job creation, while more employment in certain sectors such as wholesale and retail also contributed to the overall employment stability, according to Ning.

In December, China's surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than the same period in the previous year.

Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 16 and 24 came in at 14.3 percent, while the rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.4 percent, data showed.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities stood at 5.1 percent in December.

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 should strengthen the implementation of the job-first policy in its pursuit of high-quality development and better leverage the role of economic growth in boosting employment, according to a tone-setting economic meeting held in December.