BEIJING -- China's employed population in urban areas expanded by 7.37 million in the first half of 2014, with the unemployment rate remaining low at 4.08 percent, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) said on Friday.

The increase was slightly higher than the 7.25 million posted during the same period last year, bolstered in part by a nationwide plan to help college graduates land jobs, according to MOHRSS spokesman Li Zhong.

A total of 560,000 new grads secured job offers during recruitment activities led by the ministry, which also attracted more than 200,000 private enterprises, according to Li.

By the end of June, China's registered urban unemployment rate stood at 4.08 percent, unchanged from the first quarter and slightly lower than the 4.1 percent logged for 2013.

Friday's steady employment figures came as the country's economy showed resilience in the first half, with growth momentum rebounding in the second quarter from the first.

Economic growth accelerated to 7.5 percent in the April-June period from 7.4 percent in the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in mid-July.

Instead of fixating on GDP growth, senior leaders and officials have promoted a macroeconomic control strategy featuring the idea of "a proper range," -- a lower limit to ensure steady growth and job creation and an upper limit to avert inflation.

Delivering a government work report in March, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to add over 10 million jobs and keep the registered urban unemployment rate below 4.6 percent this year.

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