KATHMANDU, Aug 26: Over the past few years, the number of youths applying for various posts announced by the Public Service Commission (PSC) has been steadily decreasing, signaling a gradual decline in interest toward government jobs. In contrast, the number of youths seeking employment in South Korea through the EPS system has been rising.
Compared to FY 2022/23, the number of applicants for PSC exams dropped by around 10,000 in FY 2023/24. A similar decline of about 10,000 has been recorded again in FY 2024/25.
The PSC has not yet submitted its annual report for FY 2024/25 to President Ram Chandra Paudel. However, according to a senior official, preliminary figures show that around 10,000 fewer youths applied compared to FY 2023/24. The commission has already submitted the FY 2023/24 report to the President, which has also been made public.
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Experts say foreign employment opportunities and other factors have contributed to the declining interest of youths in government jobs. Compared to FY 2022/23, the total number of applicants for PSC exams fell by nearly 10,000 in FY 2023/24.
According to the PSC, 483,203 applications were filed in FY 2022/23, while 473,490 were filed in FY 2023/24. Sources suggest that in FY 2024/25, the number stands at around 463,000.
PSC Information Officer Eknarayan Sharma said the commission had advertised 3,690 positions in FY 2023/24, for which 473,490 youths applied. He noted that youths are increasingly less interested in government jobs due to better facilities in the private sector, the creation of new opportunities in private industries, and the growing appeal of foreign employment.
In FY 2021/22, 365,434 applications were filed with the PSC. Compared to that year, applications in FY 2022/23 rose by 32.23 percent. According to the commission, the lowest number of applications in the past decade was in FY 2018/19, when only 143,753 people applied, while the highest was in FY 2016/17 with 844,297 applicants.
The PSC’s annual reports show that most applications are for non-technical Kharidar (office assistant) posts, followed by non-technical Nayab Subba (assistant section officer) and non-technical branch officer posts. After these, non-technical under-secretary posts receive the second-highest applications. However, interest in government jobs has been rising in Karnali Province, with PSC’s 63rd and 64th annual reports showing an increase in applications from the region.
Growing attraction toward South Korea
Meanwhile, according to sources at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, 103,000 youths applied this year for just 5,300 quotas under the EPS system for employment in South Korea. Each year, South Korea hires around 11,000 Nepali workers through EPS, drawing hundreds of thousands of applicants.
Bhuwan Singh Gurung, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said the number of youths applying to work in South Korea has been increasing every year. “Primarily due to the attractive salary, more and more youths are applying annually,” he said. Ministry sources also confirm that applications for South Korea continue to rise each year.
