Record number of China's youth vie for 'iron rice bowls' in tough job market

Public-sector jobs seen as prestigious and stable amid layoffs, wage cuts elsewhere

- Joyce ZK Lim

SHENZHEN - Competition for civil service jobs in China has reached new highs, as millions of graduates in the country seek out stable employment in a job market fraught with uncertainty.

This past weekend, more than 2.5 million aspiring bureaucrats - the largest number in more than a decade - sat an hours-long national civil service examination at test centers across the country.

It is their first hurdle in a quest to secure one of just 39,700 government jobs that begin in 2025.

Broadly, this translates to an average of 65 people competing for every job.

A record number of graduates in China are grappling with a labor market plagued by layoffs and wage cuts that have extended even into the public sector.

Youth joblessness has remained persistently high as opportunities dwindle - the figure, at 17.1 percent in October, is above the global level and does not account for students or the underemployed.

The rush for government jobs goes back to the Covid-19 pandemic period in China, as the state mounted a regulatory crackdown on industries from property to tech that shook the private sector, a major employer.

Recent graduate Zhang Shuai-kang, 23, was one of the millions who sat the recent civil service exam, in the north-eastern city of Harbin.

"It's mostly because I have always dreamed of becoming a policeman," said the design major, of his public service ambitions.