Around 50,000 people sat the National Public Servant Exam in Shanghai recently, in the hope of being recruited for one of 147 local government posts, Shanghai Daily reports.

This comes the month after the UK newspaper Financial Times foresaw significant interest in civil service recruitment exams nationally, and noted that “over the past decade, the government’s grip on the economy has strengthened, luring people back into the civil service”, and roles which the paper says are known as ‘golden rice bowl’ jobs, which are perceived as “cushy”.

One of the vacancies – post administration in Shanghai’s Huangpu District – attracted 1,100 candidates, the Daily notes. High interest in a career in the public service is also a result of muted business conditions and fewer jobs available more generally.

One candidate, Pan Zheying, told the Daily that most of her classmates took the national exam and had been preparing for it for over five months – but she said she was convinced it was time well spent, noting: “Some state-owned companies also have aptitude tests. So [even if unsuccessful] it will not be a waste of time.”