Public Sector Payroll Rises in January Despite Slight Decline in Employee Numbers

According to the figures, 16,251 civil servants and 3,031 workers were on the public payroll at the start of the year. The number of retirees receiving state pensions as of December 2024 was recorded at 15,796.

In January 2025, the state paid out a total of 1,430,868,792 TL in pensions to retirees from various occupational groups.

Salary Expenses for Political Figures Continue to Rise

The data shows that political staff salaries increased from 15,978,628 TL in December 2024 to 17,735,013 TL in January 2025, despite no significant change in the number of personnel, which remained at 52.

Teachers and Overseas Staff Budgets Climb

In January, the number of teachers decreased slightly, but the budget allocated to them rose to 573,667,312 TL, up from 522,714,192 TL in December.

While the number of staff in overseas diplomatic missions dropped from 75 to 74, their total salary expense surged by nearly 6 million TL—from 17,374,738 TL to 23,480,633 TL.

Permanent and Contracted Civil Servants

The number of permanent civil servants increased slightly from 5,180 to 5,234, with salary expenses rising from 759,508,062 TL to 852,724,869 TL. The category of "other" permanent civil servants decreased from 3,421 to 3,408, but their total cost rose to 501,743,113 TL from 448,714,326 TL.

The number of contracted officers increased from 387 to 392, with corresponding salary expenses jumping from 63,096,978 TL to 71,664,068 TL. Meanwhile, the number of temporary officers dropped from 850 to 848, but their payroll costs climbed from 97,434,272 TL to 108,329,078 TL.

Inflation Hits Public Sector Wage Bill Despite Personnel Reductions

The number of "other" temporary officers dropped by 46, from 1,163 to 1,117, but the cost rose slightly to 138,058,987 TL from 136,176,545 TL.

Privatization and Disabled Employees

In the privatization category, the number of people receiving salaries from former public enterprises such as K.T.H.Y and ETI dropped by one, from 357 to 356. However, their cost to the state increased from 41,540,741 TL to 46,125,854 TL.

The number of disabled civil servants remained steady at 242, with expenses increasing from 27,699,517 TL to 30,797,478 TL.

Overall Payroll Costs Surpass 4.4 Billion TL

While the total number of salaried civil servants decreased slightly from 16,256 in December to 16,251 in January, the total cost surged from 2,130,237,912 TL to 2,364,326,406 TL due to inflation and rising pay rates.

Workers and Retirees

The number of public sector workers increased from 3,006 to 3,031, with salary costs rising significantly from 321,830,310 TL to 372,721,076 TL.

The number of retirees decreased slightly from 15,800 to 15,796, while the total pension payout jumped from 1,284,505,212 TL to 1,430,868,792 TL.

Social Assistance and Overall Spending

The number of individuals receiving state assistance—including needy families, foster families, people with disabilities, and relatives of martyrs or veterans—increased from 10,630 to 10,680, with payments rising from 246,305,928 TL to 269,587,606 TL.

In total, the government paid 4,437,505,092 TL in January 2025 to 45,758 individuals—an increase from the 3,982,879,363 TL paid in December 2024 to 45,692 recipients.