BEIJING - Private enterprises have provided five to six million job opportunities on average each year for urban residents, making the sector the largest creator of urban jobs.

The figure represented three-quarters of new jobs every year in cities and townships, said Tian Chengping, Minister of Labor and Social Security, on Thursday while honoring 98 private firms for their outstanding contributions to facilitating employment.

The winners jointly selected by the ministry, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce have all taken regional leads in employing laid-off workers, college graduates and redundant rural laborers.