BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China created 12.56 million new urban jobs in 2024, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Tuesday.

In 2024, China's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous year, according to the ministry.

"The employment situation remained generally stable," said Lu Aihong, spokesperson of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, at a press conference.

By the end of 2024, over 33.05 million people who had been lifted from poverty were employed, Lu said.

China's social security card holders reached nearly 1.39 billion by the end of last year, including 1.07 billion digital social security card users, the spokesperson said. ■