China seen adding 13 million jobs in 2014 despite slowdown

The Chinese economy is expected to have created over 13 million new jobs this year, according to the official Xinhua news agency, outstripping the government target despite slower economic growth.

China added 10.82 million new jobs in the first nine months of 2014, government data showed earlier, meeting Beijing's target.

China's Communist regime aims to keep its registered urban unemployment rate below 4.6% in 2014, unchanged from its target for 2013.

But many economists believe the real number may be higher given the complexity of tracking the nation's army of migrant workers.

Healthy employment levels in the world's second largest economy are an important condition for social stability.

Any marked weakening in jobs will set off alarm bells in Beijing, which has stepped up efforts, including November's interest rate cut, to boost slowing growth.

Slowdown

Beijing has expressed its willingness to accept slightly lower growth as it has sought to restructure its economy, moving away from an investment-based model to a consumption-centred one.

November's dismal factory and investment figures indicated that full-year growth will miss Beijing's 7.5% target and mark the weakest expansion in 24 years.

Both the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have predicted a 7.4% growth rate for China in 2014.

The economic growth rate weakened to 7.3% in the third quarter, the slowest in over five years.