Seeking civil servant job? Get in line

Candidates vying for jobs at China's central ministries and their affiliated government bodies will face fierce competition as one single civil servant opening will see 86 contenders on average next year.

The authorities concluded reviews of applicants' registrations and qualifications for the upcoming State-level exam for civil servant positions on Thursday and Saturday.

The registration process for those seeking the jobs in 2025 commenced on Oct 15. According to the National Civil Service Administration, the written civil servant examination will be held on Dec 1 in designated cities.

It also said about 3.42 million are eligible for the exam, with only 39,721 jobs up for grabs next year.

Of those jobs, 26,700 are only open to new university graduates in an effort to boost youth employment, according to the administration.

The number of jobs available for 2025 is up slightly from the 39,561 that were offered this year.

Moreover, about 27,500 new recruits will take jobs at grassroots government bodies, and the requirements for those positions will be flexible to ensure high-quality grassroots public services.

Some positions are highly sought after, with as many as 10,000 candidates vying for a single opening.

Offcn Education Technology Co, an education services agency based in Beijing, said in a statement published on its WeChat account that over 130 positions have seen the number of registered candidates reaching over 1,000 on average as of the afternoon Oct 22.

A position in the liaison department of the China Vocational Education Association, which is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, even saw the number of job applicants exceed 10,000, according to Offcn.

It added that job openings at the tax or finance-related departments remain most popular, while some positions in departments such as public security and immigration offices have fewer applicants due to their stricter requirements and heavier workload.

"It has become challenging to win a civil servant position in recent years, as the job is much more stable than regular offers by companies. It's more decent as well," said Li Jiayue, a 22-year-old from Beijing.

Another candidate, 23-year-old Jia Xiang from North China's Shanxi province, has decided to take the civil servant examination to diversify his future career choices.

"I'm preparing for both the civil servant examination and the postgraduate examination, so that I will not miss out on an opportunity," Jia said.