Government hires more tax collectors

PANAMA’S government added 2,806 employees to its payroll in the first six months of the year bringing the number of civil servants to 211,488. The overall increase of 1.34 percent, , compared with the first half of 2014, when there were 208,682 employees.

Figures, released by the Office of the Comptroller, show that 189,630 employees are permanent and 21,858 are temporary. Of the employees, 132,984 work for the central government and 78,504 for the decentralized sector.Accumulated gross wages from January to June was $1.3 billion, 7 percent more than the $1.2 billion paid in the first half of 2014. The Ministry of Economy and Finance had one of the largest increases in payroll, adding 530 people a 19.5 percent increase to 3,249 employees. A ministry official said the increase was mainly in the area of tax collection. There were also 651 additional police officers hired bringing the total to 26,693. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health saw their payrolls decline slightly