Taiwan's Examination Yuan has approved rule changes that let more prior work experience count toward a civil servant's starting pay grade — good news for people moving into government jobs from contract roles.

• Time worked as a full-time contract employee at government agencies or public schools can now count toward a higher starting salary step.
• The change covers roles like contract social workers, judges' assistants, non-managerial staff at national universities, and substitute teachers at high schools and below.
• The rules for judging whether past work is "similar in nature" to the new job have also been loosened, so more experience qualifies.
• The push comes because fewer people are taking civil service exams, driven by Taiwan's falling birth rate and stiff competition from private employers.
• Senior grades get the widest treatment, while technical posts at lower grades still face limits on counting administrative experience.

Outlook: The amended rules take effect within days, and the government hopes they will lift exam sign-ups and keep experienced public-sector staff from leaving.