..Broad state reforms leading to tangible results have put positions in government back in the radar of young job seekers, a Cabinet official claimed.
"A lot of young people are applying for government," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a speech during the Philippine Economic Briefing Monday.
"This is a good sign that it's more fun to be in government," Purisima added.
This, as he noted that governance reforms, particularly ramped up efforts to fight corruption and reduced bureaucratic red tape, have resulted in improved ease of doing business in the country.
Aside from wide interest from foreign investors, young Filipinos' eagerness to work in government is also a reflection of a supposedly improved government image.
Purisima's statement is backed by earlier data from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which noted that bulk of those who passed recent government service eligibility exams are aged 18-25.
In last May's round of exams, 70.5 percent or 9,911 out of 14,063 passers fall under the age bracket, results released in August showed.
Results of the October 2011 exam released in January showed similar figures, with 68.6 percent or 7,455 out 10,866 passers aged 18-25.
In both exam rounds, 75 percent of the passers cited the desire to work for government as their main reason for seeking eligibility.
Of particular interest to the passers are human resource, social science and welfare service, general administrative service, financial service, mathematics, physical and biological science service, and tourism and industry service, the CSC said.
Job seekers' resurging interest in government work could also be driven by public officials' and institutions' visibility in the social media, Bea Achacoso, a senior public administration student at the University of the Philippines said.
"Since government has become more accessible, young Filipinos can easily see themselves working for in various state agencies," Achacoso said in a phone interview.
Other factors that attract the youth, she said, include the fact that the government is the "country's largest employers," security of tenure and assurance of benefits.
Asked if she thinks young people are choosing to work in government due to lack of choice, Achacoso said: "I don't want to think so. I don't think of government jobs as the last resort."
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