According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs increased by a yearly 2.8% to $3.63B by September 2016. In details, this rise in personnel costs can mainly be attributed to the 2.7% increase in salaries, wages and social benefits to $2.38B along with increases in retirement salaries and end of service indemnities.
The share of personnel costs in current primary expenditures stabilized at 67% in the periods January to September 2015 and 2016 up from 58% in the period January to September 2014. The ministry attributed this increase to the hiring of new military personnel but also to a lower base of current expenditures in the period 2014-2016 due to lower transfers to the state-owned electricity company Electricité du Liban.
Breakdown of Salaries, Wages and Related Benefits Jan- Sept 2015 and Jan- Sept 2016 (in $B)
| Basic Salaries | Total | |||
| 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Military Personnel | 1.07 | 1.12 | 1.47 | 1.48 |
| Army | 0.69 | 0.72 | 0.94 | 0.95 |
| Internal Security Forces | 0.29 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| General Security Forces | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| State Security Forces | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Education Personnel | 0.41 | 0.49 | 0.45 | 0.54 |
| Civilian Personnel | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.23 | 0.22 |
| Government contribution to employees cooperative | – | – | 0.15 | 0.12 |
| Customs Salaries | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Total | 1.66 | 1.78 | 2.32 | 2.38 |
Source: Ministry of Finance