BEIJING — China's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent in March, 0.6 percentage points lower than the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on April 16.

A total of 2.97 million new urban jobs were created in the first quarter, said the NBS.

The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.8 percent last month.

Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.3 percent in March, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of February, according to the NBS.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas.