BEIJING, China, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- China's unemployment rate remained under five percent in urban areas last year, with 8.5 million new jobs created.
According to a report released Monday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the 2003 national unemployment rate was 4.3 percent compared with 4 percent during 2002. The ministry said the number of new jobs was 500,000 more than expected.
The Chinese government expects another nine million new jobs to be created this year, hoping to keep the unemployment rate under 4.7 percent.
Ministry officials also reported the number of displaced workers from state-owned enterprises was reduced from 4.1 million at the end of 2002, to 2.6 million during 2003.
The ministry's figures for job creation and unemployment do not include rural areas, where residents are mainly farmers.
