China News Service, Beijing, March 16 (Reporter Kan Feng) On the 15th, more than 20 provinces across the country held a written test for the 2025 public subjects, "Administrative Professional Ability Test" and "Administrative Ethics" for civil servant recruitment.

Compared with the national examination, the provincial examination for civil servants with a larger scale has attracted more and more public attention in recent years.

Recruitment is tilted towards grassroots and fresh graduates

From December last year to February this year, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Beijing and other provinces have held the 2025 provincial civil servants’ provincial examination written examination, while more than 20 provinces have chosen to conduct joint examinations on the same day on March 15.

According to data from relevant institutions cited by China Youth Daily, more than 20 provinces have recruited a total of 165,241 civil servants this year, an increase of 12,757 from last year, an increase of 8.4%. Among them, five provinces have recruited more than 10,000 people, namely Guangdong, Henan, Hubei, Hebei and Hunan.

As for the recruitment situation of the provincial civil servant examination, many experts have analyzed that this is closely related to the employment needs of grassroots positions.

"In order to improve grassroots governance capabilities and public service levels, many regions have increased their recruitment of grassroots civil servants, especially encouraged college students to make achievements in grassroots positions, provide college students with more diverse employment options, and are also constantly improving the abilities and quality of the grassroots civil servants." Zheng Wenzhao, an expert from Huatu Education Research Institute, said.

In recent years, whether it is the national or provincial examinations, the trend of civil servant recruitment towards grassroots positions and fresh graduates has been relatively obvious. In the process of recruiting civil servants, some provinces have set up a certain number of recruitment plans, and some positions have relaxed the application requirements and tilted towards grassroots positions.

For example, Henan made it clear that in this year's provincial examination, the province has arranged a total of 5,901 recruitment plans for government agencies at or below the county level, accounting for 77.35% of the province's recruitment plans. Arrange a certain number of plans to recruit local household registration or students, grassroots service project personnel, and retired soldiers from college graduates, strictly implement the minimum service life regulations in townships, and maintain the stability of the grassroots team.

Hubei has made it clear that this year's provincial examination, 4,201 plans will be arranged to specifically recruit graduates of fresh general colleges and universities in 2025, and more than 80% of fresh general college graduates in positions can apply.

The number of applicants for provincial examinations in some provinces hits a new high

The changes in the number of recruitment and policies have also led to changes in registration popularity and competition. Judging from the scale of recruitment and application status, the number of candidates and applicants for provincial examinations in some provinces this year have hit new highs.

For example, Gansu Province plans to recruit 5,360 civil servants this year, an increase of 888 from 2024. 192,700 candidates have registered for the written test, and the number of recruits and applicants have both hit a record high.

Qinghai Province has set up a total of 3,182 positions for admission this year, with more than 115,600 applicants, and the number of candidates for admission and applicants for admission both hitting record highs.

This year, Chongqing plans to recruit 5,517 civil servants for the public examination, and after adjustment, 5,469 people were recruited, and more than 232,000 people signed up for the fee. From the perspective of competition, there are many positions with a competitive ratio of more than 400:1, and the highest level of competition is as high as 548:1.

"The provincial examination shows multiple trends such as expansion of enrollment and intensified competition. Candidates need to comprehensively improve their quality in preparation for the exam to cope with the increasingly fierce competitive environment." Zheng Wenzhao said.

The competition for the written test of the "provincial examination" has ended. Some provinces have already clarified the time for the written test scores to be announced. If Yunnan clearly states that applicants can log in to the special examination page in early April to check the written test scores and pass scores, and Jiangxi clearly stated that the written test scores will be announced online in early and mid-April.

After the written examination for civil servant recruitment, there is still an interview session. Zheng Wenzhao introduced that the format and content of the interview vary by region and position, but the common interview forms mainly include structured interview, structured group interview, and leadership-less group discussion. The content of the interview also covers multiple aspects such as comprehensive quality, professional ability, and thinking ability. (End)