Public Personnel Costs Declined by a Yearly 5% to $3.40B in January 2016
According to the Ministry of Finance, personnel costs dropped by a yearly 5% to $3.40B in January 2016. In details, the fall in personnel costs was justified by a 10% year-on-year plunge in their salaries, wages and related benefits. However, retirement salaries witnessed an upturn of 5%, while service indemnities was the same in January 2015 and January 2016. Moreover, transfers to public institutions to cover salaries escalated by $2M mostly due to the rise in transfers to the Educational Center for Research and Development.
Personnel costs constituted the highest share of current primary expenditures, which plummeted from 59% in January 2015 to 49% in January 2016. As such, this fall can be attributed to higher current primary expenditures, which rose by 14% y-o-y in January 2016.
Breakdown of Salaries, Wages and Related Benefits in January 2016 (in $M)
| 2015 | 2016 | % change | |
| Military Personnel | 184.41 | 137.31 | -25.54% |
| Education Personel | 43.12 | 49.75 | 15.38% |
| Civilian Personnel | 27.86 | 27.20 | -2.38% |
| Government Contribution to Employees Cooperative | – | 13.27 | |
| Customs Salaries | 1.99 | 1.99 | 0.00% |
| Total | 257.38 | 232.17 | -9.79% |
Source: Ministry of Finance
