Previous government hired over 5,000 people in four years.

FROM 1995 to date, the number of people employed in the broader public sector has increased yearly by about 2 per cent, an official yesterday told the panel that is probing the circumstances that led to Cyprus' near financial collapse.

George Georgiou, director of the Statistical Service, said also that over the years public-sector employees have accounted for 18 to 19 per cent of the country's total workforce.

The panel is currently focusing on fiscal actions and decisions in the past few years and their impact on government finances.

According to data furnished by Georgiou, in 2007 the broader public sector (civil service, local authorities and semi-governmental organisations) employed 66,150 persons, or 18 per cent of the total workforce; in 2010, the number rose significantly to 71,529 persons or 19 per cent; and in 2011, there were 71,553 people employed.

Although in 2012 the figure dipped to 70,268 persons, this accounted for 19.2 per cent of the total workforce at the time.

In 2010, the then AKEL administration stated its intention to slash the size of the civil service by 1000 persons a year by 2013, in a bid to contain the payroll.

Yesterday Georgiou did not provide a year-by-year breakdown for the number of civil servants, but cited 2012, when 33,784 people were employed by the central government.

The official has been asked to re-appear before the panel to provide more detailed data.

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Publication:	Cyprus Mail (Cyprus)
Date:	May 10, 2013
Words:	252
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