Services boost in works as China adds 10.5m jobs

China added 10.52 million urban jobs in the first nine months of the year, meeting 87.7 percent of its annual target, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Saturday. The ministry is also planning new measures to boost hiring in the services sector. The surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent from January to August, and employment remained "generally stable," ministry officials said in a State Council Information Office press conference. The ministry will work with other departments on a policy document to promote employment through services sector development, enabling services to better act as the main channel for absorbing jobs, Vice Minister and spokesman Li Zhong said. Beijing will also work to keep employment steady in labour-intensive industries and look for new job opportunities in emerging and future industries, he added. As of the end of September, 1.079 billion people were enrolled in basic pension insurance. Unemployment insurance covered 251 million people and work-injury insurance covered 327 million. The three social insurance funds had a combined balance of 11.2 trillion yuan. (Reuters) Edited by Azam Khan