China's urban job market remains stable

China's urban job market remained stable in the first nine months of the year with more new employment created, an official said on Friday.

The country's urban registered unemployment rate dipped to 4.04 percent at the end of September, from 4.1 percent at the end of June, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security spokesman Yin Chengji told a press conference.

The Chinese government had set this year's urban unemployment rate target at 4.6 percent.

A total of 10.66 million new jobs were created in urban areas during the Jan.-Sept. period, according to Yin, which means the government has accomplished its full-year target of creating no fewer than 9 million new jobs ahead of schedule.

"Job creation has been very effective," Yin said, adding the ministry will continue to help college graduates to find jobs and that this would be the top priority of next year's employment work.

The country's economic rebound in the third quarter has taken some pressure off its leaders, but weakening economic trends toward the end of the nine-month period has left them still needing to further steer structural reforms.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 7.8 percent in the July-Sept. period compared with one year earlier, accelerating from the second quarter's 7.5-percent increase and growth of 7.7 percent in the first three months of the year.