Supreme Audit Office: growing number of state employees burdening public finances

The share of state employees in the Czech workforce has been steadily growing which is placing a significant burden on public finances, the Supreme Audit Office warns in a report published on Monday. The volume of expenditures on state employees’ salaries has been growing since 2015 and reached 13.5 percent of the state budget last year, when the average salary of an employee on the state payroll increased by almost a tenth in nominal terms to CZK 37,061 per month, the report says.

The number of state employees was the lowest in 2013, when it dropped to just over 413,000. It has since increased by 35,000 to 449,000. Meanwhile, the efficiency of the government sector has not increased but has actually been in decline in recent years, the Supreme Audit Office concludes.

The government wants to freeze the salaries of state employees next year in connection with the coronavirus crisis.