Around 1.4 million candidates have applied for the 2015 civil service exam held on Sunday, according to Xinhua.
Although the actual number of people who turned up for the test is not yet available, the number of applicants for this year's civil service entrance exam is reportedly the lowest in five years. In fact, last year, 1.52 million took the test, while back in 2012, 1.3 million did, which was 100,000 fewer than in 2011, suggesting that the popularity of a government post may be on a decline.
Nonetheless, the annual national public servant exam is still considered one of the most competitive tests in the country, as there are only 22,200 vacancies in national government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches.
Also, civil servant jobs are still favored by many Chinese as they offer relative stability, what with the many incentives which include multiple welfare benefits and the consistent salary, known in China as the "iron rice bowl."
According to China Daily, 2012 statistics show that 76.4 percent of China's college graduates still want to be a civil servant, much higher than in other countries.
For example, said the news site, in Singapore only 2 percent of graduates sought government employment, while the number in the U.S. was 3 percent, and in France it was a little more than 5 percent. In the U.K., civil service is one of the 20 least-favored jobs among university students.
Most of the positions that are open this year in government agencies above provincial level will require two years of grassroots working experience. Moreover, about 10 percent of all vacancies will be set aside for college graduates who want to become village officials.
China's civil servants have a well-defined system of ranks. The rank of a civil servant determines what positions they may assume in the party and/or the government; how much political power they get; and the level of benefits in areas such as transportation, housing, and health care.
Presently, the system has 27 different ranks. Within each rank, there is a grade system to reflect seniority and performance. China also has a State Administration of Civil Service (SACS), which is responsible for the management, recruitment, assessment, training, rewards, supervision and all other aspects related to the country's civil service affairs.
As of end of 2012, China has 7.1 million civil servants on its payroll.