China created 12.7m urban jobs in 2012: Ministry

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China created 12.7 million new jobs in urban areas in 2012, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said on Friday.

The increase from 2011's 12.2 million new urban jobs left China's urban jobless rate steady at 4.1 per cent at the end of 2012 - the 10th straight quarter officials say it has been at that level.

The urban jobless rate is China's only official unemployment indicator, but analysts say it grossly underestimates the true level of unemployment because it excludes about 250 million migrant workers from its surveys.

The National Bureau of Statistics said last week that China had created 11.9 million jobs in 2012 in urban areas. The differing numbers highlight the discrepancies in China's employment data which feed analysts' doubts.