More than 13 million jobs were created last year while the registered unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 3.9 percent at the end of 2017, said Lu Aihong, spokesman for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, at a news conference on Friday.??

The registered unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who register with human resource authorities or employment service institutions.?

This year, 15 million people are expected to pour into the labor market, more than 50 percent of whom will be new college graduates, numbering a record high of 8.2 million, Lu said.?

“The huge increase in the work force will put great pressure on the jobs market,” he said. “But we will strive to ensure re-employment of workers and help new college graduates find jobs by offering training courses and preferential policies.”?

Lu said that promoting employment of new graduates still remains the ministry’s priority in increasing the employment rate this year.?

“New graduates are the future for their families and society, they are also the driving power of economic transformation and social development,” Lu said.