TOKYO, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- National non-career-track civil service examinations passed by women in Japan rose in fiscal 2019 by 3.4 points to a record ratio of 37.3 percent, the government said here Tuesday.

According to the National Personnel Authority, the number of women successfully applying for civil service jobs also increased by 200, to a new record high of 2,839 out of 7,605 successful applicants.

The rise in the number of successful female applicants comes as Japan is facing a dire labor crunch as the population here continues to simultaneously age and shrink.

The government has been focusing on ways to encourage the female labor force to grow, such as making provisions for more daycare facilities so mothers, as has been the case in the past, don't have to choose between their careers or raising children.

And measures have been taken to stamp out harassment in workplace for mothers returning to work after taking maternity leave.

Of those who passed the non-career-track national civil service examinations, 5,675 passed the tests for administrative work, while 1,930 passed the exams for civil engineering, agriculture and other technical work, the National Personnel Authority said.

In total, there were 29,893 applicants for the jobs and while this was a drop from the 33,582 applicants seen a year earlier, yet the one in 3.9 pass rate marked the highest success rate since the exam began in fiscal 2012.