BEIJING (Xinhua) -- Official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that the unemployment rate based on a survey of urban areas in China continued to decline in July, from 5.5 percent in June to 5.4 percent in July.

In the first seven months of this year, 7.83 million new jobs were created in urban areas, according to the authority.

The survey-based unemployment rate among 25-59-year-olds, who make up the majority of the labor market, fell to 4.3 percent in July, according to the data.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities came to 5.6 percent in July, down 0.2 percentage points from June.

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