The number of new employees in China's urban areas reached 2.7 million in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 30 percent of the 9-million goal set for the whole year, according to statistics released Thursday by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Statistics also showed that 1.1 million laid-off workers found jobs again in the three months, which took up 22 percent of the 5- million goal set for the whole year.

But the oversupply of laborers and the unbalanced structure in employment will not change within a short period of time, said the ministry's spokesman Hu Xiaoyi at a press conference.

"It's still quite tough for people from China's middle and western areas, old industrial bases, resources-exhausted cities and those laid off from bankrupt enterprises or in poverty to find jobs," Hu said.

According to him, the ministry launched a special drive between the beginning of this year and the Spring festival to promote the re-employment work.

During the drive, officials with labor and social security departments around China made more than 4 million visits to local laid-off workers, created 1.3 million new posts, helped 370,000 jobless people to get re-employed and provided free vocational training for 310,000 people.