Civil service jobs are valued for their stability, competitive wages, and excellent benefits, but competition for openings has always been fierce due to the limited number of positions. Now state-run enterprises under the Ministry of Economic Affairs are planning to recruit at least 1,000 employees next year, which is expected to be intensely contested by job seekers.

During the global financial crisis, many hoped to find stable jobs. A number of state-run enterprises under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, including Taipower, CPC, and Taiwan Water, will be mass recruiting next year.

Taipower has 493 job openings, while CPC and Taiwan Water have, respectively, 323 and 110 openings.

The three companies, which are trying to get younger, are seeking employees with at least vocational school degrees and offering starting salaries of 36,000 NT per month.

As Taiwan's state-run enterprises offer full benefits, many job seekers are expected to apply.

However, job banks say that 62% of enterprises in Taiwan had more job openings in the fourth quarter of 2010 than the year before, while 71% of enterprises say that they have had difficulty filling vacancies.

65% of companies also said that job seekers have become less aggressive due to the recovering economy.

Job seekers will be able to file online applications for Taipower, CPC, and Taiwan Water vacancies between January 20th and January 30th, and written exams will be held on April 24th.