Examinees walk into Nanjing Forestry University to take the National Civil Servant Exam in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 10, 2017. More than 1.1 million people took the National Public Servant Exam in China Sunday, a leap from last year's 984,000, marking the second time the number has hit the one million mark. (Xinhua/Sun Can)
Though the temperature hovered around freezing in Beijing, scores of young people waited to take the nation's civil service examination on Sunday.
More than 1.1 million people took the test this year, with an average enrollment and admission rate of 39-to-1. Compared to last year, enrollment increased by over 170,000 people. Despite the increase, there's been a decline in demand for what are often the most popular positions.
There are two parts of the exam, both lasting three hours. For the morning section, examinees are tested on their administrative professional capacity. The three-hour part in the afternoon focuses on applicants' ability to analyze designated materials. Most people taking the exam cite stability as their main motivation.
A civil service exam applicant said, " I think civil service is a stable profession. Perhaps they have higher social status." Another referenced the job's compatibility, saying, "I have been hoping to be a civil servant because it suits my character."
Some jobs are hotly contested. For a single popular opening, there can be 2,000 hopeful candidates. Despite the startling odds, competition this year is actually less fierce. Last year, the most popular position had 10,000 applicants.
In previous years, the most-wanted vacancies were in the statistics and tax departments. This year, jobs in demand were in the areas of disaster prevention and mitigation, international cooperation and at the China Family Planning Association.
Liang Yuping, director of the public servant management research center office at the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science said," from subjective wishes of the examinees, their pragmatic and rational attitudes have replaced the original group psychology."
Central government agencies and their affiliated institutions tend to point people to start at the grassroots level. More than 80 percent of the positions are below the county level this year. Party government offices above the provincial level all require candidates with at least two years of experience working in communities.
