China reported a 4.2 percent registered urban unemployment rate by the end of September, according to statistics of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

The statistics, released by the ministry at a press conference Tuesday in Beijing, also show an additional 8.1 million urban people found jobs in the first nine months of this year.

The two figures are near the employment targets of 2005 set by the government, namely an additional 9 million people find jobs and keeping the registered urban unemployment rate below 4.6 percent.

The registered urban unemployment rate in China has been kept below 5 percent in recent years, which was 3.6 percent in 2001, 4 percent in 2002, 4.3 percent in 2003 and 4.2 percent in 2004, according to statistics of the ministry.

Source: Xinhua