BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- China's job market remained stable and saw signs of improvement in the first half of this year, with the registered urban unemployment rate decreasing at the end of June, official data showed Monday.

In the first half of the year, 7.52 million new jobs were created in Chinese cities, 170,000 more than the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS).

The registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 3.83 percent, down 0.12 percentage points year on year, the ministry said.

MOHRSS spokesman Lu Aihong attributed the improvement in the job market to brisk economic growth, improving economic structure, and the country's efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation.

China's GDP expanded 6.8 percent year on year in the first half of 2018, up from the annual target of around 6.5 percent and within the range of 6.7 to 6.9 percent for 12 consecutive quarters.

The share of the service industry in GDP continued to rise in the first half to 54.3 percent, meaning greater capacity for job creation, Lu said.

Amid the country's push to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, an increasing number of market entities were registered in China, conducive to the improvement in the job market, he said.

"In the future, China will continue to implement a proactive job policy, encourage job creation by promoting entrepreneurship and enhance vocational training and employment-related public services," Lu said.