BEIJING - China's State Council, or Cabinet, acknowledged that getting jobs remains a tough challenge for many college graduates and efforts must be made to help them.

A State Council meeting on Wednesday, presided by Premier Wen Jiabao, agreed that supportive policies must be adopted to encourage graduates to work at the grass-roots level and less-developed areas, and to become self-employed.

"The task to promote employment rate of college graduates remains arduous because the total number of graduates is still very large, and some graduates' expectations for jobs do not match the demand of employers," said a statement of the meeting.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, China will have about 6.6 million college graduates in 2011.

The statement said efforts should be made to "expand employment channels and create more opportunities for graduates."

China's plan to develop more knowledge and technology-intensive enterprises should help create more job opportunities. Small and medium-sized enterprises that employ university graduates could enjoy preferential policies in obtaining loans and social security, the statement said.

It said graduates should also be encouraged to find jobs at the grass-roots level in both urban and rural areas as well as less-developed central and western regions.

"More jobs should be created in the fields of social management, public education, health and cultural sectors," it said.

College graduates' concerns over income, social welfare and other "practical issues" should be properly addressed, it said.

It said graduates should also be encouraged to start up their own businesses, and relevant training and services should be strengthened.

"Graduates who start up their own businesses can obtain loans worth up to 100,000 yuan (about $15,380) and get relevant training subsidies," it said.

Meanwhile, university graduates are encouraged to become trainees or interns, with employers or local government providing subsidies for them, it said, adding that research institutes should provide more jobs for graduates.

The statement also said graduates from poor families can receive subsidies for finding jobs.

Unemployed graduates should register so that they can obtain assistance from the government, the statement said.