China's job market witnessed stable improvement in the first quarter this year

China's job market witnessed stable improvement in the first quarter this year as labor demand grew stronger amid a robust economic recovery.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent in March, down from 5.6 percent in February and also lower than 5.8 percent a year ago, and the number of new jobs created in the first three months stood at 2.97 million, up by 120,000 year on year, data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security showed.

The employment situation gradually improved and largely remained stable thanks to a smooth shift in COVID-19 response and effective policies to stabilize the economy, Chen Yongjia, an official of the ministry, told a press conference on Monday.

China aims to add 12 million jobs in cities this year and keep its jobless rate at around 5.5 percent. Chen expressed optimism in delivering the annual targets, citing favorable conditions from an upward economy to the government's employment-first policies.