Thousands applying for govt jobs

The heated competition for next year's civil servant positions - in which 4,000 people might fight for one job - has not scared away job-seekers as the number of applicants is expected to hit a historical high.

Officials estimate that 1.4 million people will register for the 2010 civil servants exam, up about 30 percent over last year, said Yu Hongze, vice president of Huatu Education, an agency specializing in preparing applicants for the annual civil servants exam.

Among them, only 15,526 people will take the 9,275 civil servant positions. Some of the positions have multiple openings.