China’s civil service: low pay, long hours and 1 million people want in
- Number of jobs up for grabs halved in 2018, and 63 people applied for each and every one of them
- Some are drawn by the chance to do their bit for society, others by the promise of job security
Despite the low pay and heavy workload, jobs in China’s civil service are still highly sought after.
In December, about 920,000 applied for the 14,500 positions available, or roughly 63 for each vacancy, Xinhua reported.
The previous year, more than 1.1 million people sat the test, although there were almost twice as many positions available, so the competition is getting hotter.
Sarah Shen, a saleswoman from Nanjing, the capital of east China’s Jiangsu province, was among those who sat the provincial civil service test last month. She said that even though she was aware of the reduced benefits and low salary, she was still drawn to the job.
“Being inside the government system means stability,” she said. “Working at a private company doesn’t come with many benefits or a great salary either. And on top of that you can be fired at any time, or your company may close down.”
Being a saleswoman was a high-pressure job, she said, as she was always under pressure to meet her monthly target. By comparison, her friends who worked in the civil service seemed to have much more time to spend with their families.