China created more than 13 million new jobs last year, despite slowdown in world’s largest economy to 6.7 percent. However, there were concerns regards a new incoming huge workforce with more than 7-million graduates flooding the market and a supply-demand mismatch gap for skilled workers.

These are findings from Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) that showed 13.14 million new jobs for urban residents were created in 2016 exceeding the whole-year target of 10 million. The registered unemployment rate in Chinese cities stood at 4.02 percent, down from 4.04 percent three months earlier.

This figure was well below the government’s set target of 4.5 percent set towards the beginning of last year. Lu Aihong, spokesperson for MHRSS told LiveMint, that China’s employment generally held steady.

The government had earlier rolled out an array of pro-employment policies for college graduates, laid-off workers from glutted industries, and migrant workers. The country’s entrepreneurial wave has helped job creation.

See: Nearly 80% of China’s White-Collar Workers Receive No Promotion in 2016

“The fundamentals for stable employment have not changed,” Lu said, citing favourable factors such as steady growth, advanced reform measures, urbanisation, and strengthening innovation capacity. Lu added, “A huge incoming workforce and supply- demand gap for skilled and laid-off workers will put pressure on the employment market.”

China’s economy expanded 6.7 percent in 2016, down from 6.9 percent in 2015, marking the weakest growth in 26 years and that has added to the concerns over employment generation.

To overcome these challenges, China would ensure that reemployment of workers made redundant during country’s excess capacity cuts, would help college graduates seek jobs, improve professional skill training and support people to set up their own businesses.

Also read: Top 10 Talent Trends in China for 2017