Job market 2017

China's job market remained stable and achieved progress in 2017 with core indicators beating expectations.

A historic high of 13.51 million new jobs were created in urban areas, 370,000 more than 2016. The number of employees rose to 776.4 million, according to a bulletin released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).

Nearly 45 percent of all employees were in tertiary industries, while 28.1 percent and 27 percent were in secondary and primary.

China's registered unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 3.9 percent at the end of 2017, the lowest since 2002. The reading was lower than 3.95 percent at the end of the third quarter, which was the lowest level since 2008.

The average wage of urban employees in the public sector rose 10 percent to stand at 74,318 yuan($11007.14) for the year, while in the private sector the average salary rose 6.8 percent to 45,761 yuan. The average annual wages of migrant workers increased 6.4 percent to 41,820 yuan.