BEIJING (Reuters) - China's urban unemployment rate was 4.08 percent at the end of June, identical with the level in March, the labour ministry said on Friday.
Li Zhong, spokesman of the Human Resources and Social Security Ministry, told a media conference China added 7.37 million jobs in the first half of this year, more than the 7.25 million a year earlier.
Any marked weakening in the labour market would raise alarm bells for China's government, which regards healthy employment levels as a top policy priority and an important condition for social stability.
"The employment situation was generally stable in the first half of this year," Li said in a webcast carried on the government portal website, www.China.com.cn.
China aims to keep its registered urban unemployment rate below 4.6 percent in 2014, unchanged from its target for 2013.
Thursday's flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed China's job market in July improved from June, though the employment sub-index was still a shade under the 50-point level that separates growth in activity from contraction.
Premier Li Keqiang said last week that economic growth of slightly more or less than 7.5 percent this year would be acceptable as long it still led to new jobs and higher wages.
China's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the second quarter, expanding by 7.5 percent, as a burst of official stimulus paid dividends, but some analysts said the recovery appears largely dependent on government assistance.
(Reporting by Xiaoyi Shao and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Richard Borsuk)