Record number of young Chinese compete for ‘iron rice bowls’ in toughest job market in years

Youth unemployment has remained persistently high as opportunities dwindle. - AFP

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 difficult 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 centres across the country.