Experts estimate that the number of people applying to take the annual national civil service exam is likely to hit a record high of 1.5 million, with the single most sought after position attracting 9,470 applicants as of 6 pm Wednesday, when registration closed.
Around 1.13 million candidates have qualified to take the exam as of 8 am Wednesday, up 242,825 since Tuesday, reported the Beijing Times.
The government plans to fill 20,000 positions this year.
The number of registered applicants traditionally skyrockets during the last two days, said Gu Fei, a researcher at the Huatu Education Group, a company that specializes in training candidates.
"The weak economy has pushed many people to consider public service," said Yun Jie, director of the administration research department with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, adding that factors including salary and benefits, social status and opportunity for advancement are attractive.
The hordes of people applying for a government job indicates a society that highly values people by their official ranking, the People's Daily said.
The most sought after position is with the National Bureau of Statistics in its Chongqing survey team.
