China's urban registered unemployment rate stood at 4.1 percent at the end of June, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) said on July 25.

The rate remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive quarter during the April-June period, and rested below the government's 4.6-percent annual target set for this year.

China created 6.94 million new jobs in urban areas in the first half, fulfilling 77 percent of its annual target of creating 9 million new jobs, said Yin Chengji, spokesman of MOHRSS.

A total of 2.94 million laid-off workers were reemployed in the first six months, meeting 59 percent of the annual target to have 5 million unemployed workers move back into jobs.

The country's central and western regions were a major force in creating jobs in the first half. Labor-intensive industries have been gradually moving to the central and western areas from eastern coastal regions in recent years, as part of the country's efforts to upgrade its industries.