China is preparing for an unprecedented wave of new university graduates next summer – a record 12.7 million outgoing students – intensifying pressure on an already strained job market and a slowing economy.

“We must draw lessons from past experience… and place greater emphasis on adopting extraordinary, unconventional policy measures to address unpredictable risks,” according to an official readout from a national conference on the issue, also held on Thursday.

Despite the “pressure and difficulties” facing the class of 2025, overall employment has remained stable, the report’s authors said.

At Thursday’s conference, senior officials from the MOE and other ministries instructed local governments and universities to launch new initiatives to “expand and improve the quality of graduate employment” for the outgoing cohort.