According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs increased by a yearly 6% to $4.03B by October 2016. In details, this rise came on the back of a 7% year-on-year incline in salaries, wages and social benefits, a 5% annual increase in retirement salaries, and an 8% yearly rise in end of service indemnities.
Personnel costs’ contribution to the current primary expenditures stood at 58% in January to October 2014, compared to 66% and 67% in the period January to October of 2015 and 2016, respectively. As such, the ministry continues to attribute the escalation in the wage bill to the hiring of new military personnel, coupled with a lower base of current expenditures in the period 2014-2016 attributed to lower transfers to the state-owned electricity company Electricité du Liban.
Breakdown of Salaries, Wages and Related Benefits Jan. – Oct. 2015 and Jan. – Oct. 2016 (in $B)
| Basic Salaries | Total | |||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Military Personnel | 1.08 | 1.25 | 1.51 | 1.63 |
| Army | 0.69 | 0.8 | 0.96 | 1.05 |
| Internal Security Forces | 0.3 | 0.35 | 0.41 | 0.44 |
| General Security Forces | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| State Security Forces | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Education Personnel | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.54 | 0.59 |
| Civilian Personnel | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| Government contribution to employees cooperative | – | – | 0.15 | 0.15 |
| Customs Salaries | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Total | 1.77 | 1.97 | 2.47 | 2.64 |
Source: Ministry of Finance