Provinces relax age limits for civil service

40-year-olds now eligible to sit exams in bid to relieve employment anxiety

Some provinces and regions in China have relaxed age restrictions for candidates registering for civil servant examinations, sending a positive signal to middle-aged people who may be experiencing employment anxiety.

Over the weekend, 27 provinces and regions — out of the 30 that recently started their civil servant recruitment campaigns — organized written examinations. Among these provinces, 10 of them, including Henan and Hubei, as well as Tianjin municipality, raised age restrictions for candidates to 40 years old, up from 35.

Henan clarified in a recruitment notice that those born after January 1982 and holding a master's or doctoral degree can apply for civil servant positions, except for some vacancies that have strict age limits. Previously, these vacancies were only open to candidates under 35 years old.