Civil service: new state agents are older and on contract

Young workers are entering the state civil service later and later, at over 33 years of age on average, and mainly as contract workers, the Court of Auditors pointed out on Friday, June 6, recommending an attractiveness policy targeting them specifically.

In a report, the Court notes "a profound transformation of the traditional model of the civil service, historically based on access to civil servant status at the start of a career and through competitive examinations" .

The average age of new entrants into the state civil service, which has 2.5 million employees, reached 33 years and 3 months in 2022 , compared to 25 years in 2010 and 21 years in 1980. In 2022, it was 39 years and 6 months for civil servants and 31 years and 8 months for contract workers.

Annual recruitment by competitive examination recorded a sharp drop of 28% between 2002 (56,000 non-military positions offered) and 2022 (40,300). Among the approximately 250,000 new recruits in 2022, 71.4% were recruited as civilian or military contractors , compared to 21.3% as civil servants, the remainder being apprentices, state workers or teachers in private establishments under contract.

The Court also notes a "growth in temporary contracts of limited duration" , of which 54% are for less than one year, 34% for between one and three years and 11% for more than three years, leading to increased volatility in the workforce.

"Among the employees who joined the public administration in 2020, 91% of permanent employees are still there two years later, and 94% of those under 30. On the other hand, only 52% of contract employees will be there in 2023," and 44% of those under 30.

Among the challenges facing the State civil service, the Court notes in particular "significant aging linked to the lengthening of careers" , which makes "inevitable (...) massive retirements in the coming years" .

She believes that the aspirations of the younger generations – the search for meaning in work, flexible organisation, less hierarchical relationships – "may clash with the representation they have of it or with the reality of the practices of the State civil service" .

In view of this observation, she recommends "implementing as quickly as possible a strategy specifically dedicated to the recruitment of young people, based on forward-looking management of jobs and skills over five, ten or fifteen years."