More than 779.95 million Chinese were employed at the end of last year, 5.15 million more than at the end of 2008, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Wednesday in Beijing.

Some 297.08 million Chinese worked in the agriculture sector last year, accounting for 38.1 percent of the total labor force.

Another 216.84 million and 266.03 million people were employed in the secondary and tertiary industries, respectively, according to the ministry.

China's urban jobless rate stood at 4.3 percent at the end of 2009, the ministry said, adding that 5.14 million laid-off workers found new jobs.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2010)