Only 68 percent of college graduates this year had landed a job by July 1, a hard-won achievement against the background of the global financial crisis, China's Education Ministry said Wednesday.

Among 6.11 million college graduates this year, 4.15 million have got a job, said the ministry.

"It is not easy to achieve the 68 percent of graduate employment, considering a shrinking job market under the financial crisis and an increasing number of graduates," said Zhang Haoming, deputy director of the ministry's college student department.

Last year 4.05 million out of 5.59 million college graduates, or 73 percent, found a job.

Zhang said the government had given priority to graduate employment since the end of last year, issuing plans such as offering training courses and preferential loans for start-ups.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)