BEIJING - China's job market remained stable in August, with the unemployment rate at a relatively low level, official data showed Friday.

In August, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from the level in July and down 0.1 percentage points from August last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 4.9 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from July and unchanged from August last year.

Starting from April this year, the NBS has regularly released the monthly surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas to help the government improve macro-control and provide information for formulating employment policies.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas, including migrant workers in cities.

The rate was first introduced in 2014 to better reflect the job market and serve as a supplement to the registered urban unemployment rate compiled by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.