BEIJING - A large number of Chinese college graduates this year will create another "hard-to-find-job year" that has become a regular issue, according to a cabinet notice published Tuesday.

The General Office of the State Council said that the number of college graduates will total 7.27 million this year, setting a new record and making it more difficult to find jobs amid the slowdown of the country's economy.

The figure doubled that of ten years ago as the Chinese government has been encouraging universities to enroll new students and many parents still regarded higher education as the only means for their children to achieve success.

However, college education has become quite common, said Mo Rong, director of Institute of International Labor and Social Security under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The situation is not the same as in the 1980s when undergraduate diplomas normally led to stable and respected jobs.

"There are around 15 million young Chinese people who start to search for jobs annually, nearly half of which will be college graduates this year," Mo said.

The total number of people looking for employment each year stands at around 25 million.

The surging unemployed and less valuable diplomas resulted in arduous job-hunting for new graduates, many of whom still envisioned glamorous roles with high salary.

The government has rolled out measures including tax breaks to prompt college graduates to start businesses, choose enterprises rather than public institutions and find employment in middle-sized cities with less competition.

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