Competition heats up for new civil jobs

Candidates walk into the test center at Nanjing Forestry University, Jiangsu province, on Sunday to sit for the 2026 national civil service exam for central government institutions

China’s 2026 national civil service exam for central government institutions was held on Sunday amid fierce competition, with an average of 74 applicants vying for each available position this year.

A total of 3.718 million candidates passed the initial verification process and about 2.83 million people sat for the exams to compete for only 38,100 positions, making this year’s recruitment process the most intense in the exam’s history, according to the State Administration of Civil Service.

The applicant pool has increased dramatically in recent years, rising from about 2.6 million in 2023 to over 3.7 million this year.

One standout example of the exam’s competitiveness is a police officer position in Ruili, Yunnan province with the National Immigration Administration, which attracted 6,470 applicants for a single opening.

A significant reform to this year’s exam was the relaxation of age restrictions, which is in line with China’s progressive approach to delaying the legal retirement age. The general applicant age limit was raised from 35 to 38, while new graduates with master’s and doctoral degrees will now be eligible up to age 43, representing a three-year extension from previous limits.

Experts said this year’s national civil service exam, the first to break the “age 35 threshold”, establishes a significant precedent for more inclusive public sector recruitment processes. The reforms not only expand opportunities for experienced professionals but also set important benchmarks for private sector hiring practices, promoting ability-based talent selection across Chinese society, they said.

This policy adjustment acknowledges the valuable experience and capabilities that professionals in their mid-30s have accumulated, said Zhu Lijia, a professor at the National Academy of Governance.

Including them in the public service can significantly enhance the quality of government departments, he told China News Service. China Daily