Even as China braces for a moderate slowdown in economic growth, it fulfilled the annual target for employment ahead of schedule, which indicates that China’s economy has intrinsic tenacity for development.

Economic data in the first nine months of 2016 showed that 10.67 million new jobs have been created, and 10 million was the target for the year. Also, China created more than 13 million new urban jobs in each of the past three years.

The robust employment market should give credit to China’s economy, which posted a growth of 6.7 percent in the first nine months, downshifting but still maintaining a high speed.

Premier Li Keqiang said that in the past, every one percent of GDP growth can create new jobs for 1 million people. With the adjustment of China’s economic structure, especially the booming tertiary industry, it can create new jobs for 1.3 million-1.5 million people, and the number exceeded 1.9 million in 2015.

“The country must ensure employment and increase people’s income in order to further develop the economy, thus enable everyone to share the fruits of development,” Premier Li said during an executive meeting of the State Council on June 10, 2015.

China has initiated reforms in streamlining administration and delegating powers, in the commercial system and encouraging mass innovation and entrepreneurship, and the economy is further upgraded with more jobs being created.