BEIJING -- Applicants for China's 2017 civil servant recruitment drive started to register Saturday for more than 27,000 vacancies in over 120 central departments and agencies.

There are the same number of vacancies for 2017 as 2016, according to a circular. Numbers of recruited government workers rose from more than 16,000 in 2011 and 22,000 in 2015.

Online registration will end on Oct. 24. The exam will be held on Nov. 27 in major Chinese cities.

Local-level work experience will advantageous for applicants, with personnel with more than two years of experience at this level given some advantage.

The circular also stressed zero tolerance for cheating.

Some 930,000 people sat the National Public Servant Exam in China on Nov. 29 last year, a 60,000 decrease year on year. But the 27,000 positions on offer was a new high.

The exam?is considered one of the most competitive tests in the country as only one out of every 33 applicants secured a government job last year.

Civil servant jobs are a relatively stable career, although the popularity of government posts has dropped in recent years.