Overview
- FPSC data published Saturday show registrations for the Central Superior Services exam fell about 48% from 35,059 in 2022 to 18,139 in 2025.
- The number of candidates who actually sat the CSS dropped from 20,262 in 2022 to 12,792 in 2025 even as the share of registrants who appeared rose to roughly 71% by 2025.
- Recommended CSS appointments fell from 239 in 2022 to 170 in 2025, leaving nomination rates at 0.94% of registrants and 1.33% of attendees in 2025.
- FPSC figures show the decline is wider than CSS: general federal recruitment registrations fell from a 2023 peak of 436,757 to 196,193 in 2025, with only 3,005 nominations that year.
- Experts cited in coverage point to changing career preferences and stronger private-sector pull as likely contributors, a shift that could reduce civil-service talent supply and force policy choices on vacancies and hiring incentives.