BEIJING - China created 1.88 million new jobs in the first two months of the year, a Chinese official said Friday.

"The figure was 160,000 higher than the number created in the same period last year," said Zhang Yizhen, vice minister of human resources and social security, at a press conference.

China's employment situation was generally stable in the first quarter this year, with the unemployment rate in 31 major Chinese cities stable at around 5 percent in January and February, according to Zhang.

China aims to create more than 11 million jobs this year, 1 million more than last year's target, according to this year's government work report.

China added 13.14 million jobs in 2016, and the registered urban jobless rate stood at 4.02 percent at the end of the year.