Unemployment rate in this east China's economic hub declined in 2004, the first time in the past 10 years, according to latest data provided by the municipal statistical bureau.

This was accompanied by a notable narrowing-down in income growth gap for urban and rural dwellers in Shanghai.

Pan Jianxin, head of Shanghai Bureau of Statistics, said last year Shanghai created 608,000 jobs, surpassing the annual target set at the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, the city reported a registration of 274,300 unemployed people at the end of last year, a decrease of 26,800 people at the beginning of the year. The registered unemployment rate stood at 4.5 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

A sample survey conducted by the statistical bureau found urbanites in Shanghai had an per-capita disposable income of 16,683 yuan (2,010 US dollars) in 2004, up 12.2 percent over the year-earlier level; while the city's rural dwellers had 7,337 yuan (883US dollars) in per-capita disposable income, up 10.2 percent. The growth rate for rural areas was a record high since 1997, the bureau added.

Source: Xinhua