The number of China's State employees is growing and government posts remain appealing to job seekers, said experts.
有关专家近日表示，我国国家公职人员的数量在不断增长，政府职位对求职者仍有吸引力。
China had 7.167m civil servants at the end of 2015, according to a statistical communique issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS). It is the first time that the MHRSS publishes the number of civil servants in China.
人力资源和社会保障部近日发布的一份统计公报首次披露了我国公务员总数：截至2015年底，我国共有公务员716.7万人。
"This is not a large number compared with that of developed countries," Zhu Lijia, a professor with the National Academy of Governance, told China Economic Weekly.
国家治理研究院一位名叫竹立家的教授接受《中国经济周刊》采访时表示：“与发达国家相比，这并不是一个很大的数字。”
The number of State employees stands at around 50 million, according to Zhu's estimates, a rise from around 40 million in 2008.
竹立家教授估计，国家公职人员的数量大约是5千万，相比2008年的4千万有了大幅增长。

The number of State employees is growing as new college graduates and retired soldiers join the ranks every year, with only a limited number of people retiring from their posts, said Shen Ronghua, vice chairman of Chinese Public Administration Society.
中国行政管理学会副会长沈荣华称，由于每年都有新进高校毕业生和退伍军人，而从岗位上退休的人数量有限，国家机关工作人员的数量在持续增长。
Another major concern is the disproportionate number of leaders to ordinary staff in government departments.
另一个主要问题是政府部门中“官与兵”人数比例失调。
A media report showed that in one government department in Central China's Hunan province, there are 61 cadres of at least section level, compared with only 21 ordinary staff who undertake most of the tasks.
媒体报道显示，中国中部的湖南某政府部门里科级以上干部有61名，而承担大部分工作的普通公务员只有21人。
"In some Chinese cities, with each municipal leader come seven or eight deputies. The salary of one leader amounts to that of five or six ordinary employees," said Zhu.
竹立家教授补充说道：“在一些中国城市，每一个市政领导都会配有七到八个副职。而一名领导干部的薪金相当于五六名普通公务员的薪金。”
Both the number of applicants and the number of new civil servants have dropped for two years, according to statistics of the MHRSS. But Zhu Lijia said that does not mean that the civil service has lost its appeal to job seekers.
根据人力资源和社会保障部的统计，无论是申请人数，还是新公务员人数，这两年都有所下降。但竹立家表示，这并不意味着公务员职位已经失去了对求职者的吸引力。
"The drop in the number of applicants for civil servants reflects the fact that college graduates have become more rational in choosing government jobs, and it is also the result of efforts by authorities to keep the number of civil servants at a proper scale," said Zhu. "Compared with other jobs, jobs in the civil service are more stable. As the economy develops, the salary of civil servants will grow accordingly. Its appeal will not fade in the short term."
竹立家说：“公务员报考人数的减少，反映了大学毕业生在选择政府工作上变得更加理性。这也是政府当局努力保持适当规模的公务员人数的结果。相比其他岗位，公务员职业比较稳定。随着经济的发展，公务员的工资也将相应地增长。这一职位的吸引力不会在短期内消失。”