China has 2.7 million more urban employees in first quarter

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.