China is making efforts to ensure that over 70 percent of college graduates this year will have found jobs by September, said Education Minister Zhou Ji Thursday at a national working conference on student employment.

About 70 percent of college graduates last year found jobs last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Education.

It is more difficult for students from high-level occupational institutions than for those with bachelor degrees to find jobs, according to the ministry. Last year only 55 percent of high-level occupational school students found jobs, compared with 83 percent of graduates with bachelor degrees.

Zhou said high-level occupational schools should try their best to help the students find jobs. Currently 4.8 million students are studying in such schools, accounting for 42.3 percent of total students in all kinds of colleges and universities.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2004)