Hundreds of thousands packed out schools and universities across China on Sunday to take the national civil service exam, with record numbers registering in search of a stable government job.
More than 1.5 million people registered to take the exam, the Beijing Times reported, a record and more than 30 times the number sitting the exam a decade ago.
This year test-takers are vying for about 20,000 government vacancies, state television said.
The rapid expansion in recent years has been boosted by the perception that government jobs offer added stability and status, test-takers said.
Outside the Hujiaolou middle school in Beijing, one of dozens of test sites in the capital, Liu Ting, a 24-year-old student, stood clutching a red revision book containing lists of “hot” political jargon to be used during the test.
“I’m taking the exam because government jobs are more stable,” Liu said. “There’s basically no chance of losing a government job once you have one.”