Returning migrant workers and college graduates participate in a job fair in Anqing, East China's Anhui Province, on June 19, 2022. More than 120 enterprises in the city participated in the fair, offering more than 6,000 jobs in industries including biotechnology and new energy. More than 1,100 applicants accepted jobs on the spot. Photo: VCG

China's job market continued to improve in August, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate falling for four consecutive months, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday showed, as industrial production rebounded and domestic market demand improved.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday showed, in August the national urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

Experts said the further decline of the unemployment rate was the result of mixed factors including the consistent and effective policy support, the economic resilience, and the end of the graduation season for college students, while predicting the unemployment rate to continue to fall in September.

As part of the government's efforts to stabilize the market, from January to August, 8.98 million new jobs were created in urban areas across the country.

One highlight of Friday's data is that the unemployment rate among youth, the major job-hunting group, has dropped significantly.

In August, the unemployment rate among the people aged between 16 and 24 stood at 18.7 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than July.

"The decline of the unemployment rate has partially to do with the fact that the graduation season - between June and July - has passed, and there are more new jobs available in the market in temporary terms," Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Friday.

The supportive policies are a major factor to a stable job market as the government's assistance policies such as helping enterprises to overcome difficulties, providing financing support such as guaranteed loans for entrepreneurship, and supporting flexible employment have continued after the graduation season.

Policies and measures to promote the relief and development of the service industry, the key industry for job market, have gradually taken effect, and the service industry has continued to recover. In August, the service industry production index increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year, and the growth rate was 1.2 percentage points higher than that of the previous month, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said on Friday.

"The continuity and intensity of the policy are stronger than before, with policies still being introduced until September, indicating an important factor in the recovery of the employment rate," Li said.

But the current unemployment rate is still at a relatively high level and stabilizing employment and a series of assistance measures must not be slackened, experts said.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 large cities and towns was 5.4 percent, unchanged from July. The surveyed unemployment rate for the 25- to 59-year-old population was 4.3 percent, also unchanged from the previous month, the NBS data reads.

Li predicted that in September, the unemployment rate is expected to fall by about 0.2 percentage points, of which the youth unemployment rate may go below 18 percent, indicating at least 0.7 percentage points lower than in August.