A record high 2 million candidates are expected to register and apply for China's annual civil servant recruitment exam to be administered in November, an expert said.
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National-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches will recruit 20,839 civil servants in 2013, nearly 3,000 more than this year.
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However, more vacancies does not mean applicants will have a better chance of securing a position, as the number of applicants may top 2 million, up from 1.3 million last year, Li Yongxin, chief research fellow of Zhonggong Education, a training company focused on civil service applicants, said yesterday.
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Therefore, only one in every 90 applicants will get the jobs in the end, Li said.
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As China's employment situation in recent years has become increasingly grim, civil servant posts, which the public considers to be decent and stable jobs, have become the most sought-after.
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Last year, a single vacancy in the National Energy Administration attracted 4,961 qualified applicants.
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Meanwhile, more qualifications are being imposed on applicants, including requiring work experience at or below the county-level for applicants to central- and provincial-level posts, which will leave new college graduates in a position to apply for 75 percent of available posts.
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While a great number of college graduates flock to big cities for jobs, the recruitment program encourages fresh graduates to go to grassroots by offering more vacancies at lower levels of government.
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More than 2,000 new posts will be offered by local, central government-managed branches of the tax administration, customs, border management, marine affairs and postal service agencies, Li revealed.Â