BEIJING -- China is faced with a more complex and arduous task of ensuring employment in 2015 against the backdrop of an economic slowdown, China's human resources minister said Tuesday.

About 15 million young students need to find jobs in 2015, consisting of 7.49 million college graduates and a similar number of those graduating from technical schools or middle schools, said Yin Weimin, the minister of human resources and social security.

Another 3 million surplus labor force in the rural areas will be seeking employment elsewhere, according to the minister.

Yin made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress annual session.

China aims to create more than 10 million urban jobs and ensure that the registered urban unemployment rate does not rise above 4.5 percent in 2015, according to a government work report last week.