Ranks of civil service shrink, but not for long
The size of the Greek civil service dipped in the first quarter of the year, continuing the downward trend that started in 2009, but it is expected to grow again, as the government has pledged to rehire thousands of staff.
According to figures released by the Administrative Reform Ministry on Monday, Greek public servants numbered 573,958 in March this year, down from 576,865 last December.
The civil service started contracting at the peak of the crisis, chiefly because thousands decided to opt for early retirement in a bid to avoid cutbacks demanded by Greece’s international creditors. In 2009, there were 952,625 public sector workers.
