Crush of job seekers eye civil service exam
- Source: Global Times
- [03:47 October 16 2009]
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Chen Jing, a graduate student of English language and literature at Beijing Language and Culture University, who will graduate next July, told the Global Times that being a civil servant is attractive because it offers better benefits and hukou, household registration, that gives legal right to live in a city and receive social benefits.
"I have been preparing for the exam since months ago, so do several classmates of mine. Even some classmates who have obtained job offers also want to try the exam," she said.
A woman from Shaanxi Province surnamed Huang, who is working for a travel agency in Beijing, has tried to sit the civil servants exams twice, and she will not give up because she wants hukou in the capital.
"I just want to settle down here. But without hukou, you will be always a visitor to the city. To be a civil servant is the best way to reach it," she told the Global Times.
Statistics showed that there were 1.05 million applicants for the civil servant exam last year, and some 3,000 applicants competed for one post in some departments. Civil service jobs include police officers.
China National Radio reported Thursday that there would be more applicants this year because of unemployment pressure, pushing people to look for the "golden bowl."
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences earlier said in its 2009 Blue Book of Chinese Economy released in December that China will face increasing employment pressure because of slow economic growth, and many of the nation's 6.5 million college graduates will face difficulty finding jobs.
"Students regard civil servants as the best jobs for a stable income and security. It shows that jobs offered by other sectors don't give sufficient sense of security," said Chen Xinmin, director of the Human Resources Institute at South China Normal University.
Some 84 percent of the 15,000 positions this year are for applicants with bachelor's degrees or above. At some government agencies, such as the Ministry of Education, only those with a master's degree or above are allowed to apply, Southern Metropolis Daily reported Thursday.
