Mainland China created jobs for city-dwellers at the rate of more than 13 million a year in the past four years, even though economic growth has moderated, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency quotes Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Yin Weimin as saying this week that sustained economic development, industrial optimisation, administrative and business reforms, and positive employment policies contributed to stability in employment.

The report says 13.14 million urban jobs were created last year. The government target last year was to create 10 million urban jobs.