Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2011. The reference to more than 4.5 million unemployed, the recent pay cut for civil servants, the upcoming general election and the new regional and local governments all refer to that moment. The forecasts for 2013 have expired.
With more than 4.5 million unemployed, civil servants are always seen as the lucky ones in times of crisis, even though their pay was recently cut. In recent debates, and with the general election approaching, attention has turned to the fact that while private companies have all had to shrink their workforces, the three main levels of government (the State, the regions and local councils) have kept hiring more civil servants.
According to figures from Dinero y Empleo, companies in Spain have cut their workforce by an average of 11% during this crisis, while public administrations have increased theirs by 8%.
Now civil servants are in the eye of the storm, after the change of government in many regions and town halls, where the priority is to reduce the deficit. At first this will be done by trimming staff, closing some public companies or privatizing them.
Each region will decide on its own cuts. Even so, some figures are already known: the Andalusian regional government (Junta de Andalucía) reportedly plans to cut 100 million euros by 2013, and around 110 instrumental entities (publicly owned agencies and companies) would disappear. Catalonia has already announced that 1,500 jobs in its public companies will go, which has sparked complaints.
For now, the numbers suggest that by 2013 Spain would have 5% fewer civil servants.
Featured image: Zarateman, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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