A job fair for college graduates is held in Shanghai on Oct 16, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Aug. 16, 2024 -- China's unemployment rate saw a slight decrease in the past seven months, according to the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

Figures from the NBS show that from January to July, the average surveyed jobless rate in the nation's urban areas was 5.1 percent, down 0.2 percentage point year-on-year.

In July, the surveyed urban unemployment rate saw a small growth of 0.2 percentage point to 5.2 percent from that in June. However, the number was down 0.1 percentage point from July last year.

The jobless rate of the nation's 31 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, averaged around 5.3 percent in July, up 0.4 percentage point from the previous month, while it dropped 0.1 percentage point year-on-year, according to the NBS.

It added that in July, the working hours of employees in enterprises nationwide was 48.7 hours each week.