In another indication of China's improving economic outlook, a record number of migrant workers managed to find jobs by the end of June.

The success of the 150 million migrant workers who found work contrasted sharply with news earlier this year that 20 million unemployed migrant workers had given up on life in the cities and returned to their villages.

The exodus of unemployed migrant workers was caused by the global financial crisis, which hit China's export sector hard and led to the closure of many factories - traditional employers of migrant workers from China's rural areas.