China created more than 10 million jobs in the first three quarters of this year, reaching the government’s annual target, and ahead of schedule.

That news came from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security’s media briefing on Tuesday. The jobs reading was slightly better than last year but was still lower compared to the same period two year ago.

Analysts say the weakened jobs number stemmed from China’s slowing economy. But the number of job vacancies jumped in some new growth sectors, such as the internet, logistics, and finance.

On the upside, the unemployment rate sat below the government’s target at 4.04 percent in September.