China's urban unemployment rate hits record 15-year low

China's urban unemployment rate fell to 3.97 percent in the first quarter, the lowest rate since 2002, according to data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

From January to March, 3.34 million jobs were created in cities and towns, 160,000 more than the same period last year, while the unemployment rate fell 0.07 percent year-on-year.

About 1.29 million laid-off urban residents found new jobs in the same period.

"The first quarter produced a stable performance with good momentum for growth," ministry spokesman Lu Aihong said.

According to official data, China's unemployment rate had remained above 4 percent for 15 years, fluctuating between 4 and 4.3 percent. From 1995 to 2001, the unemployment rate remained between 2.9 percent and 3.6 percent.

China's five major national social security funds — covering basic pensions, basic healthcare, unemployment, work-related injury and maternity — had a total income of 1.53 trillion yuan ($222.08 billion) by the end of March, a year-on-year increase of 26.9 percent. The total payout was 1.18 trillion yuan, up by 21.7 percent.

The central government is pushing forward investment management reform of the pension fund to improve its annual profit and better meet social demand.

As of March, Beijing, Shanghai, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and the provinces of Henan, Hubei, Yunnan and Shaanxi had signed contracts with the National Council for Social Security Fund to have their pension funds managed by professional investors.

The total amount of these contracts was 360 billion yuan. So far, 137 billion yuan of the pension funds has been invested, Lu said. It is still unclear how the money will be handled, but he said security is the top priority.

"The pension fund is retirees' safety net," Lu said. "Throughout the entire investment and management process, we will make the security of the fund our top priority by enhancing supervision and guarding against risks."