The government plans to recruit about 110,000 more people into the public service, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in the 2027 Budget speech in Parliament on Thursday.
The President said approval has already been given to fill 148,940 vacancies in the public sector. About 40,000 of those appointments have been completed so far, he said.
The approvals came from the Officials’ Committee on Staff Management, appointed by the Cabinet, and the Department of Management Services. Both bodies reviewed the recruitment needs of state institutions before clearing the posts.
Financial provisions will be set aside to recruit a further 110,000 employees. The government said the purpose is to make sure state institutions have enough staff to deliver an efficient and quality public service.
The Budget also proposes to address problems affecting departmental services and other executive services. Their promotion mechanisms would be aligned with those that already apply to island-wide services.
Background
Recruitment to state institutions in Sri Lanka needs approval before posts can be filled. Under the arrangement described in the Budget speech, the Cabinet-appointed Officials’ Committee on Staff Management and the Department of Management Services review each institution’s requirement for staff and clear the vacancies.
Public service posts are organised in services that differ in scope. Island-wide services, such as the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, cover the whole country. Departmental services are limited to a single department. According to the Budget speech, the promotion schemes of departmental and other executive services are not currently aligned with those of the island-wide services, which the government now proposes to change.
The Budget statement does not say how the new provisions will be phased, or which ministries and institutions will receive the additional posts.
What it means
For job seekers, the announcement signals that state sector recruitment will continue on a large scale. Of the 148,940 approved vacancies, roughly 108,900 remain to be filled, on the figures given in the speech. The additional 110,000 posts are described as future recruitment.
For public servants in departmental and executive services, aligning promotion mechanisms with those of island-wide services could change how and when they advance in their careers. The practical effect will depend on the detailed rules that the government publishes.
For the wider public, the government says that filling vacancies is intended to improve the quality and efficiency of services delivered through state institutions.
