177 "Career bureaucrats" retire within 10 years in 2022, the highest number ever

Recently NHK News on-line reported the following:

10年未満で退職の「キャリア官僚」2022年度は177人 過去最多

2024年7月6日 8時49分

いわゆる「キャリア官僚」として採用後、10年未満で退職した国家公務員は、2022年度は177人と今の試験制度による採用が始まってから最も多くなりました。2年連続で過去最多を更新していて、人事院は働き方を改善して人材確保を図る方針です。

人事院によりますと、いわゆる「キャリア官僚」として採用後、10年未満で退職した国家公務員の「総合職」は、記録が残っている2013年度では76人でした。

その後、増える傾向にあって、2018年度は116人と初めて100人を超え、今月公表された2022年度は177人と今の試験制度による採用が始まった2013年度以降、最も多くなり、2年連続で過去最多を更新しました。

2022年度に退職した職員のうち、在職年数が5年未満は81人、3年未満は31人となっています。

人事院は「慢性的な長時間労働や民間企業との待遇の差など、勤務環境に対する不満などが背景にあるのではないか」と分析していて、来月の人事院勧告で、働き方の改善や職員の役割や能力に応じた報酬の設定などを政府に求め、人材の確保を図る方針です。

Translation

The number of national civil servants, the so-called "career bureaucrats" who resigned within 10 years after being hired had reached 177 people in 2022, the highest number since the current hiring system began. This was the second consecutive year that the number had reached a record high, and the National Personnel Authority planned to improve the working system to secure human resources.

According to the National Personnel Authority, the number of "career-track" national civil servants who retired within 10 years after being hired, the so-called "career bureaucrats", had set a record of 76 people in the fiscal year 2013.

Since then, the number had been increasing, reaching 116 in 2018, exceeding 100 for the first time, and the number of 177 people in 2022, announced this month, was the highest number since 2013, when  the current hiring system began, and had reached a record high in two consecutive years.

Of the employees who retired in fiscal year 2022, 81 had been working for less than five years, and 31 had been working for less than three years.

The National Personnel Authority had analyzed that "dissatisfaction with the working environment, such as chronic long working hours and disparity in treatment compared to private companies, may be behind the resignations," and in its recommendation next month it planned to ask the government to improve the way of work and set rewards according to employees' roles and abilities in order to secure human resources.

              So, the number of national civil servants, the so-called "career bureaucrats" who resign within 10 years after being hired has reached a record number. Job dissatisfaction over the working environment, such as chronic long working hours and disparity in treatment compared to private companies could be the reason. I think salary increase may solve part of the problem.

Note:

National career track employees (国家総合職の職員) are candidates for executive positions in central government ministries and agencies, and are involved in work that takes on central administrative roles. They are in a position known as "career bureaucrats," and are involved in tasks such as policy planning and drafting bills in each ministry and agency, explaining these to ministers and lawmakers, and formulating budgets behind the scenes. These positions are considered difficult to get and the application successful rate is usually less then 15%.