Has the Civil Servant Craze Passed?... 7th Grade Civil Servant Exam Competition Rate Hits Lowest Since 1979

The Competition Rate for Grade 9 is the Lowest Since 2001... Average Age of Applicants Also Increased Compared to Last Year

Candidates disinfecting their hands at the national civil service level 9 written exam site [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Woo-seok] The competition rate for this year's national level Grade 7 public official open competitive recruitment exam was recorded at 42.7 to 1, down from last year.

The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 8th that the competition rate for the 2022 Grade 7 national public official open recruitment exam, held from June 24 to 26, was 42.7 to 1, lower than last year's 47.8 to 1. A total of 33,527 applicants applied for 785 positions, marking a decrease of 5,420 applicants compared to last year.

This year's competition rate for the Grade 7 national public official exam recorded the lowest since 1979 (23.5 to 1). After reaching a competition rate of 113.3 to 1 in 2013, the Grade 7 competition rate has shown a continuous downward trend over the past decade. Although last year saw a slight increase compared to the previous year, this year it immediately dropped to the lowest level.

The competition rate for the Grade 9 national public official exam also declined. This year's actual competition rate for Grade 9 was 22.5 to 1, the lowest since 2001 (19.7 to 1).

Meanwhile, the average age of applicants for this year's Grade 7 national public official exam was 29.7 years, higher than last year's 29.4 years. By age group, those in their 20s were the largest with 19,824 applicants (59.1%), followed by those in their 30s with 10,937 (32.6%), 40s with 2,505 (7.5%), and those aged 50 and above with 261 (0.8%).

The proportion of female applicants was 50.8%, down from 52.5% last year.

The first written exam for this year's Grade 7 open recruitment will be held today, July 23, across five regions nationwide (Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon). The locations will be announced on July 15 on the Cyber National Examination Center website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.