1.12 million in race for stable civil service jobs
Print Edition
A single vacancy in a State Ethnic Affairs Commission office attracted 7,192 applicants yesterday, making it the most coveted job in this year’s national civil service exam.
The vacancy, a position in the commission’s ethnic theory and policy research center, was said to be favored by candidates because it required no experience, just a bachelor’s degree in a number of different majors, including philosophy, law and history, according to China News Service.
Nearly 1.12 million candidates across the country took the exam yesterday to compete for around 19,000 jobs at 130 national-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches to be filled next year, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
On average, the chance of gaining a government post is one in 57, the ministry said, with 37 positions sought by more than 1,000 candidates each, the news agency reported.
The number of applicants signing up for the exam is increasing every year, and there were around 1.52 million signed up this year, an increase of 140,000 compared to 2012, although some 400,000 didn’t turn up on the day.
With health care, subsidized housing, attractive pensions and little chance of being laid off, civil service posts in the country are still the most sought-after jobs in a tough market.
In Shanghai, more than 30,000 candidates took part in the exam. The most wanted government post in the city was one at the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, which attracted 1,751 applicants.
Shanghai Customs had the biggest number of applicants, followed by the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau and the Shanghai Office of the State Administration of Taxation. The three sectors attracted more than 70 percent of the total number of applicants aiming for positions in the city, which is looking to recruit 722 people.
Outside an exam venue in the city’s Yangpu District, many test-takers said they were sitting the exam because their parents wanted them to have a stable job, according to a Dragon TV report. One female applicant said she was there to fulfil her parents’ wishes while a male applicant said his parents thought working in the public sector would be an advantage when looking for a wife.
Of the applicants who had signed up for the exam but failed to turn up, Jennifer Feng, a senior human resources analyst with 51job.com, said the civil servant exam was just one of the channels to get a job.
Feng said it wasn’t surprising to see some positions attract a huge number of applicants because they had low requirements in terms of experience and education. Feng said universities should take note of the students’ passion for the exam with many of them scrambling for government posts rather than aiming for jobs elsewhere that required higher standards.
“It’s a waste of talent and educational resources,” she said.
The national exam includes an aptitude test and a written policy essay.
Those who pass the written exam will make it to the interview round. The scores will be released in January.
By late last year, there were about 7 million civil servants in China, according to the State Administration of Civil Service.
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