(Yicai) Oct. 14 -- China has eased the age limit for civil servant recruitment to align with the phased increase in the statutory retirement age and to broaden the pool of qualified applicants.

Applicants for the national civil service exam must be aged between 18 and 38, while those graduating with a master's or doctoral degree next year can be up to 43, according to an announcement made today. In the same notice last year, the respective upper ages were 35 and 40.

Under changes to the statutory retirement age being phased in over about 15 years, the oldest applicants for the 2026 test will also have their retirement age extended by three years. So a man who under the old rules would have retired at 60 will now leave work at 63, while a woman who would have retired at 50 or 55, depending on their role, will now go at 53 or 58.

Some provincial announcements on civil service exams have already relaxed the restrictions for applicants, with Shanghai and Jiangsu province recently setting the age limit at 38. Several regions such as the provinces of Shandong and Guizhou as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have also eased the requirement for certain positions in public bodies to 45.

The national-level exam selects staff for ministries, commissions, agencies, and general administrations of the central government, while its provincial equivalents recruit for local party and government organizations, as well as for other public institutions.

The easing of age limits for civil service exams can help foster a more inclusive employment culture across society and alleviate the long-standing "age anxiety" associated with being over 35, an analyst told Yicai.

But relaxing the age barrier is only a first step, the analyst said. The authorities also need to overhaul the evaluation systems and boost training and clarify promotion pathways so that older applicants can compete fairly and progress in their careers, they added.

Editor: Tom Litting