CRI听力:Tough Employment Market Drives Test Fever

This year, a record 1.5 million candidates submitted online applications for about 21,000 government jobs to be filled next year, an increase of 15 percent from a year before.

It is estimated that one out of 53 exam takers will get a government post.

The popularity of the exam has been attributed to mounting pressures in finding employment, the fairness of the test, and an attractive civil servant job which is considered stable and respected.

"It is very hard to get a job this year. Taking the exam is competitive too. Many people around me are participants."
"I take the test because of my parents' education during my childhood. Everyone wants to realize their own potential, and taking the public servant test provides us with a platform."

Enthusiasm towards the exam has triggered concerns of students' lust for power as well as brain drain from other economically productive social sectors.

However, Yin Chengji, spokesman for the Ministry of Human Recourses and Social Security, says people should have an objective view about it.

"As a career, there is development space for public servants. It can test one's capabilities and help realize self-fulfillment. Many people take the exams because the employment pressure is heavy nationwide. But the increase has been stable and gradual during the past few years. There is no big surge in the number of applicants."

Researcher Xiong Bingqi says the increase in the numbers can be seen as a reflection of the tough employment market for college grads.

"The public servant fever is a normal phenomenon. It is hard to get a job so people will take every opportunity.

People pay high attention to the test because we know the number of applicants, but we don't know the same about other companies. It is common that one post will attract hundreds of applicants in other companies as well."

The latest figures show the unemployment rate among college graduates is running at around 30-percent.

College graduates are being encouraged to diversify their employment choices, such as working for grassroots communities in rural and remote areas; working for small-and-medium sized enterprises, or starting their own businesses.

For CRI, this is Li Jing.