According to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, China created 2.99 million new urban jobs in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a stable employment situation. Over the same period, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.3 percent, the ministry reported.

Between January and March, the Chinese government provided enterprises with 3.1 billion yuan (approximately 452 million US dollars) in unemployment insurance premium refunds. In addition, 500 million yuan was allocated as one-time subsidies for job expansion, and another 800 million yuan was spent on vocational training subsidies.

As of the end of March, the number of participants in the basic old-age pension insurance system reached 1.073 billion people. The unemployment insurance system covered 247 million people, while work-related injury insurance (including occupational injury coverage) covered 319 million people. Compared to the same period last year, this represents an increase of 1.87 million, 2.8 million, and 21.52 million participants, respectively, the ministry said.