Cyprus government shaves 893 off the payroll

The government has managed to shave 893 people off the payroll by August, according to figures on the government labour force.
Total employment fell was 51,181 in August, compared with 52,074 in August 2011.
The figures exclude semi-government organisations and other public-sector workers, which amount to around 20,000 workers.
The biggest absolute decline was in the number of permanent civil servants, which dropped by 629 to 14,095.
Civil servants have been rushing to take early retirement in the expectation that the austerity measures required as part of Cyprus’ EU bailout will reduce the hefty lump-sum they take on retirement.
The “troika” (European Central Bank, European Commission and IMF) has asked that the number of public-sector workers be reduced by 1,250 per year in 2013-15, according to a leaked report published in Phileleftheros in early September.

Fiona Mullen
www.sapientaeconomics.com