China sees steady drop in unemployment rate

China's surveyed unemployment rate has seen continuous declines since March, thanks to the robust growing economy, stronger policy support and energetic industries, said a senior official.

Latest figures by the National Bureau of Statistics show that, in May, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5 percent, dropping by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The number marked a continuous decrease from March, which was 5.4 percent in February while falling to 5.2 percent in March and 5.1 percent in April.

The surveyed unemployment rate in China's 31 major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai was also about 5 percent in May, dropping by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to the NBS.

Fu Linghui, spokesman of the NBS, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that the stable employment landscape is result of growing economy, strong policy support from the government and dynamic industries.

He said that industrial and services sectors saw good performance in May, promoting the growth of employment.

"The government's stronger supportive policies and subsidies for employers' recruitment, individuals' job seeking and assistance to people with difficulties of landing jobs have helped stabilize the job market. The government has also channeled greater efforts to develop new growth point for consumption and employment, providing more skills training programs and enhancing the public services to further promote the employment," he said.

He added that the job market, however, still faces pressures from changing world landscapes, and problems like imbalance of labor forces supply and demand.

"The government will continue to make efforts to stabilize the employment and economy, and keep bettering matching of labor supply and demand to promote full and high-quality employment and a healthier economic development," he said.