Young people flock to take civil service exams, number of applications continuously hits new record

In China, the wave of young people rushing to take the civil service exams shows no signs of stopping. The number of applications for the exams is set to hit a record high in 2023, as graduates seek to secure themselves with the “iron rice bowl” of a stable job.

Candidates at a civil service exam site in China. (Source: Xinhua)

According to data from tutoring company Offcn, the number of successful applicants for this year's exam, scheduled to take place in late November, has surpassed 2.6 million, the highest number ever recorded. This is the fifth consecutive year that the number of applications has hit a new high.

Although the government continues to expand recruitment quotas, competition for positions becomes more fierce every year.

According to Offcn, in 2023, there will be an average of more than 66 applicants for a position. This is 24% higher than 5 years ago.

China's civil service exam is used to screen candidates for government jobs. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 with a college degree and no criminal record can apply.

Candidates first take a multiple-choice test to assess general knowledge and logical reasoning skills, then write an essay on a policy-related issue. The three highest-scoring candidates for each position are then selected for job interviews.

In previous decades, the civil service exam tended to be less competitive as many graduates opted to seek higher-paying jobs in the private sector. But in recent years, the job security and generous benefits of the public sector have become more attractive than ever.

Graduates today often spend months studying for civil service exams because they know that only by getting super high scores will they have a chance to get an interview. Tutoring companies have emerged with the sole focus of training graduates to pass the civil service exam.

On social platform Douban, many people are looking for civil service exam preparation partners with a commitment to study at least 10 hours a day. Some students have complained about failing the exam six times or finding themselves competing with 1,000 other candidates for jobs.

Data from Huatu Education, another professional tutoring company, shows that competition is particularly fierce in central and western China.

Job application rates tend to be higher in the West – Tibet, Ningxia and Guizhou – than in more prosperous regions, such as Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shanghai.

The only exception is Beijing – home to most central government agencies – where the number of applications is extremely high.

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