Education, Health, and Economics Ministries Have 70 Percent of Federal Staff Costs

By Xiu Ying

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to government data, the Ministries of Education, Health and Economy account for 81.4 percent of the entire workforce of the country’s Ministries. Of the 622,534 active civil servants, 507,106 are in these portfolios.

The Ministry of Education (MEC) employs 300,833 workers, the Ministry of Health 104,130, and the Ministry of Economy 102,143.

Education, Health, and Economics spent R$50.9 billion (US$12.7 billion) on payroll in the first five months of this year. The rate represents 72.7 percent of total spending on wages and benefits, which totaled R$70 billion between January and May of this year.

Despite the high concentration of civil servants in three portfolios, the federal government believes that the distribution is justified.

“The Ministry of Education also includes all universities and federal educational institutions, for instance. The Ministry of Health includes employees of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the National Health Foundation (Funasa) and the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS). Finally, the Ministry of Economy includes the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Social Security Administration (INSS),” the government explains in a note.

Transparency Portal has other Data

The data used by the government to determine the dimensions of its employees, differ from those published on the Transparency Portal. A Metrópoles Survey found that the Ministries of Defense (412,000), Education (379,000) and Economy (112,000) account for 84 percent of civil servants, whereas Health, according to this database, is in fourth place. In all, they spent R$42 billion on payroll this year, according to the government agency.

According to the Ministry of Economy, these platforms use different databases. “The Transparency Portal uses a different criterion from the Statistical Personnel Panel (PEP) to disclose data on federal civil servants. The first uses the number of employment relationships and includes the military. In this case, for instance, a servant may have more than one employe. The second, on the other hand, provides data from civil servants (amount, expenses, admissions, retirements, etc.),” emphasizes the Ministry, in a note.

The text also states that figures from the Ministry of Defense may include military servants. “Concerning the Defense’s active civil servants, there are currently 17,223 (PEP data),” it states. The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces spent R$27.3 billion on active personnel in 2018. The forecast for 2019 is R$ 29.3 billion.