BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's job market remained generally stable in the first three quarters of this year, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.2 percent in September, down 0.1 percentage points from August, official data showed on Monday.

In the first three quarters of this year, the surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.2 percent on average, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Employment among key groups remained generally stable, while some service sectors, such as transportation, accommodation and catering, and culture and sports entertainment, saw improvement in employment in the third quarter, boosted by pro-employment policies and strong summer tourism, said Wang Pingping, an official with the NBS.

Amid mounting external uncertainties and instabilities, structural challenges in employment have been relatively pronounced, Wang said, adding that China will step up pro-employment policies to help maintain stability in the job market.

China has set a target for a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent in 2025 and aims to create over 12 million new urban jobs within the year. Enditem