Employment grew steadily in the first six months of the year, and helping college graduates find jobs remains a priority for the nation in the near future, senior officials said at a news conference held by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on July 25.

According to a release by the ministry at the conference, the creation of new jobs in urban areas from January to June reached 7.37 million, about two-thirds of the goal for this year.

The ministry said that by the end of June, the unemployment rate registered with the ministry in urban areas stood at 3.61 percent, decreasing by 0.22 percentage points year-on-year.

Zhang Ying, director of the ministry’s employment promotion department, said that employment is in a rather stable condition thanks to sustained economic development and the establishment of numerous startups.

She said that in the past six months, about 19,400 new companies were registered per day on average nationwide, creating new jobs. Furthermore, over 40,000 job fairs were organized by the ministry with over 50 million people receiving free consultations on job hunting.

Among job hunters, college graduates are still drawing the most attention from the central government, according to Zhang.

The release by the ministry shows that online open classes for college graduates will be launched by the ministry from August, providing information about the latest employment policies to the graduates and offering them guidance in preparing resumes and interview skills.

In addition, the ministry will begin providing various services in August to graduates who have yet to find jobs, according to the release.

In August and September, the ministry will offer specific recruitment information and skills training programs to graduates, and job fairs will be organized both online and offline to help them gain quick access to available jobs.

“The employment of college graduates is important for economic transformation and the nation’s future development,” Zhang said. “Thankfully, the job market for college graduates has been showing steady progress so far.”