Nearly a quarter of a million vacancies are expected to remain unfilled across Sri Lanka’s public sector as the government plans to limit new recruitments to a minimum in the upcoming fiscal year (2026).
The Cadre Information of Public Sector 2025 report, released alongside the Fiscal Position Report, shows that while the total approved public sector cadre stands at 1.325 million, the actual number of employees as of June 30, 2025, was 1,076,625. This figure excludes uniformed personnel in the Tri-Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force), meaning the state’s total salary burden is significantly higher when military payrolls are included.
Despite 248,498 vacancies—the difference between approved and actual positions—the government has made it clear that major recruitment drives will not be undertaken in 2026. The Budget, Economic and Fiscal Position Report 2026 explicitly states that “the number of public sector employees will not be considerably increased through new recruitments in 2026.”
The government is instead addressing a ballooning wage bill driven primarily by salary revisions rather than headcount expansion. Expenditure on personal emoluments rose 15.3 percent to Rs. 760.7 billion in the first eight months of 2025, largely due to salary increases for existing staff.
The data also highlights staffing shortages in key revenue-generating institutions at a time when the government is pursuing fiscal consolidation. The Department of Inland Revenue operates with 2,355 staff against an approved cadre of 2,910 (555 vacancies), Sri Lanka Customs has 2,307 staff against 3,148 approved positions (841 vacancies), and the Department of Excise has 1,132 employees against 1,716 approved (584 vacancies). These gaps could pose bottlenecks for the administration’s ambitious revenue targets in 2026.
Provincial Councils employ a significant portion of the state workforce, with 398,340 actual employees, while the Central Government (ministries and departments) employs 448,982 individuals. The Ministry of Public Security shows one of the largest manpower deficits: the Sri Lanka Police (Uniform Cadre) has an approved strength of 102,100 but only 74,731 officers on duty, leaving a gap of over 27,000. In contrast, the Presidential Secretariat is fully staffed with 602 employees.
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) under the Central Government have an actual workforce of 156,294. Major employers include the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) with 24,679 staff, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) with 22,021, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) with 8,527, Bank of Ceylon with 7,367, People’s Bank with 7,316, SriLankan Airlines with 5,441, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) with 1,920 employees.
Staffing at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) remains critically low, with only 238 employees against an approved cadre of 836, meaning the commission operates with less than 30 percent of its intended workforce.
With the 2026 budget limiting new hires, the government appears to be relying on digitalisation and IT solutions to address efficiency gaps rather than filling the quarter-million vacant public sector positions.
