BEIJING, May 17 -- China's employment situation remained generally stable last month with a falling jobless rate, official data showed Friday.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5 percent in April, down 0.2 percentage points from a month ago. The rate was also lower than the 5.2 percent reading a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major Chinese cities was 5 percent last month, and the rate for rural migrant workers was 4.5 percent, according to the NBS data.

In the January-April period, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the same period of 2023.

Employment has been a priority in government work. This year, China aims to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent.

The government has rolled out multiple measures to ensure a robust job market this year and provide more assistance to key groups, which includes college graduates and migrant workers.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Monday unveiled a plan to offer community-level posts for 34,400 college graduates this year, in fields such as education, agriculture, and medical care. China has invested 11.5 billion yuan (about 1.62 billion U.S. dollars) so far this year to generate 250,000 jobs for rural residents, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Tuesday urged efforts to enhance the employment of college graduates and ensure stable employment among young people at a video conference on young people's employment and entrepreneurship.

More jobs need to be generated by promoting massive projects and key programs and launching measures for domestic demand expansion, Ding said. He also called for assistance to be provided to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in tackling shortages of finance, venues and experience.