Job hunters view recruitment information at an employment fair in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: cnsphoto

Amid discriminatory hiring practices that some companies in China are seeking younger workers under the age of 35, a political advisor suggested to this year's two sessions that efforts should be made to appropriately relax age restrictions for candidates sitting for civil servant examinations.

Li Zhengguo, director of Sichuan Henghe Xin Law Firm and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said the efforts will help resolve age discrimination in the country's job market, while making the suggestion, domestic news site thepaper reported.

Setting the threshold of 35 years old is a recognition mistake, Li said, giving the example of "996" working hour practice by some employers. Over the past several years, workers in some industries are asked to work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days per week. 

Ultra-long work hours require workers devote more time to work, causing some companies to discriminately consider that workers under 35 years have more advantages and prefer to hire younger people, he said.

According to Li, the threshold of 35 is against the development trend of society, as the country's total population recorded negative growth in the past two years.

The population in the Chinese mainland recorded negative growth for the first time in 61 years, decreasing by 850,000 in 2022, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

It's worth noting that over the past two years, some Chinese provinces, including Central China's Henan and Hubei provinces, as well as North China's Tianjin municipality, have raised the age threshold for civil service examinations to 40 years old, up from 35, in order to expand access to government jobs.