In a surprising trend, the Czech Republic has seen a significant increase in state employees over the past decade. Nearly 61,000 new positions have been added to the government payroll since 2014, bringing the total number of state-funded employees to 487,591 this year.
The surge is primarily attributed to the expansion of the education sector. Currently, 201,093 teachers in regional schools account for 41.2% of all state-paid employees. This represents a substantial increase from 2016, when there were only 157,500 teachers, comprising 36% of the state workforce.
Another area of growth is the military. The number of soldiers has risen from 23,000 eight years ago to 29,234 this year. This upward trend is expected to continue, with plans to add 854 more military and security personnel next year.
Interestingly, while these sectors are expanding, the number of civil servants has been declining for six years. According to an analysis by the IDEA think tank, the number of civil servants decreased by almost 2,500 between 2019 and the end of last year, reaching 76,595.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Finance anticipates an overall increase of up to 1,200 state employees next year. However, this growth will not be uniform across all sectors. The number of classic civil servants is expected to decrease by 496, while the military and security forces will see an increase.
Despite these official figures, it’s worth noting that the actual number of state-paid employees is typically 10,000 to 15,000, lower than the tabulated positions. This difference, often referred to as “tabulated ghost positions,” allows for flexibility in budget allocation, including the payment of bonuses.