A group of female college students on Friday submitted a petition to the labor minister demanding that the government improve the job market for new graduates and put an end to discrimination against women.

After handing the petition over to Labor Minister Akira Amari and members of labor committees in both Diet chambers, about 25 group members marched about 1 km through a business district near Shinjuku Station, chanting for the government to secure more jobs for female university graduates.

Membership in the Female Student Association to Combat Employment Difficulties currently includes about 200 coeds across the country and 100 male students supporting their cause.

Group leader Chihiro Okamura, 24, a college senior who herself has yet to secure a job for after graduation next spring, said the Labor Ministry officials appeared unwilling to help new graduates combat employment difficulties.

The ministry officials told the group that employment issues for young people are "less serious" than those for the middle-aged, suggesting that they can find part-time work or rely on their parents for support, according to Okamura.

The number of jobs available for next year's graduates is below that of job-seekers for the first time since statistics on the issue started being collected six years ago.