BEIJING, Dec.16 (Xinhua) -- China aims to keep the registered urban unemployment rate within 5 percent in the 2011-2015 period, according to a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Friday.

The government targets creating new jobs for 45 million people in cities and 40 million people in the rural surplus labor force in the five-year period, the statement said, citing the decisions of the meeting, which was presided over by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

"The overall employment pressure will continue to build up in the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015)," said the statement.

During that time, urban residents will require 1 million more jobs annually than the average level of the 2006-2010 period, it noted.

China had a registered unemployment rate of 4.1 percent for urban regions at the end of the third quarter of this year, the same level as the previous quarter.