China's survey-based jobless rate at 5.1% in 2014

[BEIJING] One of China's official measures of its unemployment rate, also known as the survey-based unemployment rate, stood at 5.1 per cent in 2014, the Chinese statistics bureau said on Tuesday.

The comment followed data that showed the world's second-largest economy grew 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, a rate that was near a six-year low.

Despite the downturn, there have been no reports of mass layoffs as occurred during the global financial crisis, However, many economists believe the few official employment readings in China underestimate the number of jobless.

REUTERS