On October 19, 2023, the application period for the 2025 National Civil Service Exam has reached its fifth day, with the enrollment phase approaching its halfway point.
This year, the government plans to recruit a record 39,700 candidates, marking the highest number in the exam’s history. The focus of this recruitment is clear, as it continues to prioritize recent graduates and positions in grassroots community services. In the first four days since applications opened, there has been a noticeable increase in interest, with total registrations exceeding 750,000, and some popular positions seeing an astonishing application-to-hire ratio of over 2000:1.
The planned recruitment includes 26,700 slots specifically for recent college graduates, and 27,500 positions targeted at county and below-level agencies, reinforcing the commitment to attract new graduates and enhance the workforce in basic frontline roles.
In recent years, the proportion of new graduates being recruited for the National Exam has significantly increased, rising from 39.17% in 2019 to 67.3% in 2022, with 2023, 2024, and 2025 maintaining rates around 70%. The latest announcements specify that applicants should generally be aged between 18 and 35 years old; however, for those graduating with master’s or doctoral degrees in 2025, the age limit has been extended to 40. Furthermore, recent graduates who graduated in 2023 and 2024 and have not secured employment within a two-year window can still apply as current graduates if they meet certain residency and document conditions.
Additionally, the recruitment process continues to implement measures to strengthen the workforce in remote and challenging grassroots regions. For positions in such areas, the government has introduced adjustments to education requirements, professional backgrounds, work experience, and separate passing scores to lower the entry barriers, while also aiming to fill certain positions with local residents or those who have lived and worked in the area long-term.
As for application trends, confidence in the process remains high, with statistics showing over 750,000 people registered by the evening of October 18. Notably, by the third day of applications, the competition for certain positions had become fierce, with one job listing for a liaison officer seeing 2,697 applicants vying for just one available spot, resulting in an astounding 2,697:1 application ratio. At the same time, there remain 894 positions without any applicants.
Evidently, the application process still exhibits a phenomenon of disparity, where some positions attract a multitude of applicants while others struggle to find candidates. Expert Liu Youzhen from Huatu Education Research Institute noted that this disparity is largely attributable to job requirements, with environmental and workload conditions playing secondary roles. He explained that positions with broader qualifications—often accommodating various academic backgrounds without restrictive criteria—tend to attract more candidates, whereas roles that impose various restrictions or emphasize demanding workloads typically see less interest.
Overall, the application disparities have shown signs of improvement in recent years. For instance, in the previous year’s examination, the most competitive position stood at a staggering 3,500:1 ratio, compared to nearly 6,000:1 in 2023 and around 20,000:1 for the most sought-after roles in 2022.
