China's surveyed urban unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in June, the lowest level this year, as the government's push for an "employment first" strategy showed early signs of progress, official data showed on Wednesday.

The rate eased 0.1 percentage point from May and extended its decline from a March peak of 5.4 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The first-half average stood at 5.2 percent, unchanged from a year earlier, leaving economists confident that Beijing will comfortably meet its annual target of about 5.5 percent.

Together with other indicators, the first-half data "shows the economy is generally stable, with key indicators running within a reasonable range", NBS Deputy Head Mao Shengyong told a State Council Information Office news conference in Beijing.

He said authorities would step up efforts to stabilize employment, businesses, markets and expectations while promoting higher-quality development and sustaining reasonable economic growth.

The jobless rate rose from 5.2 percent in January to a March peak of 5.4 percent before declining for three consecutive months. Officials attributed the March increase to a seasonal postholiday surge in job-seeking by migrant workers.

In June, the unemployment rate was 5 percent for locally registered workers, 4.9 percent for workers registered outside their place of employment and 4.8 percent for rural migrant workers, the NBS said.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities also fell 0.1 percentage point from May to 5 percent. By the end of June, the number of rural migrant workers employed outside their hometowns reached 192.27 million, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier.

The decline in unemployment came amid a national push to build an "employment-friendly" development model, a concept highlighted in this year's Government Work Report. The approach places "stable employment" first among four key priorities, followed by stable businesses, markets and expectations.

In June, the State Council, China's Cabinet, unveiled a plan to implement the "employment first" strategy during the 2026-30 period.

Last week, authorities released key employment targets for the period, including helping 25 million unemployed people return to work and assisting 6.5 million people facing employment difficulties in finding jobs.

The plan also calls for keeping the urban surveyed unemployment rate below 5.5 percent throughout the period and providing subsidized vocational training to more than 50 million people, including 17.5 million rural migrant workers.

"The latest jobless figures were in line with expectations and will significantly strengthen efforts to achieve the full-year employment target," Li Chang'an, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics' Academy of China Open Economy Studies, said in an interview with China Daily.

Separately, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's employment promotion department said in a statement on Wednesday that China created 62.42 million new urban jobs over the past five years, while the average surveyed urban unemployment rate remained at 5.2 percent.

The employed population reached 725 million in 2025, with urban workers accounting for 65.6 percent of the total and nonfarm employment making up 77.8 percent, reflecting a continued shift toward higher-productivity sectors.