BEIJING, Nov. 15 -- China's job market remained generally stable in the first 10 months of 2024 as the surveyed urban unemployment rate dropped on a year-on-year basis, official data showed on Friday.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate on average in China stood at 5.1 percent in the first 10 months of 2024, down 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

In October, the surveyed urban unemployment rate in the country came in at 5.0 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate in 31 major cities stood at 5.0 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, the NBS data showed.

The average working hours for employees in enterprises nationwide stood at 48.6 hours per week.

Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to stabilize employment, particularly the employment of college graduates this year.