2025News

Dominican public payroll swells despite hiring freeze

Taxpayer money will never be enough as the government bureaucracy continues to grow in leaps and bounds, to tell from reports on new hiring prepared by the Center for Sustainable Economic Strategies (CREES).

Despite a much-publicized hiring freeze announced in September 2024, the Dominican government has added 6,168 employees to its payroll, according to the Regional Center for Sustainable Economic Strategies (CREES). The freeze, intended to curb public sector growth, exempted essential personnel like military, police, medical professionals, and teachers.

This recent increase, while notable, is less than half the surge of 12,997 employees recorded during the same period in 2023. Nonetheless, the public payroll has ballooned by 257,471 employees in less than a decade, marking a 52.8% increase since 2015.

As of November 2024, the total number of public sector employees stands at 744,913, up 2.8% from 724,844 in November 2023. This translates to an average of 72 new public employees hired each day over the past year.

CREES argues that allocating more resources to public employment diminishes opportunities for private sector investment and job creation, hindering business growth and limiting valuable employment options for households.

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Listin Diario

12 February 2025