A total of 468,220 posts are currently lying vacant across various ministries and government offices in Bangladesh, according to the latest official data on public sector staffing.

The figures emerged from the Statistics of Public Servants 2024, compiled on the basis of updated manpower data of government employees as of 31 December 2023.

The government has already adopted special short- and long-term action plans to fill the vacancies, state minister for public administration, Md Abdul Bari, told the Jatiya Sangsad on Sunday.

The state minister disclosed the information while responding to a question from lawmaker Sarwar Jamal Nizam during the 11th sitting of the second session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad. The sitting was presided over by speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

Providing a breakdown of the vacant positions, Abdul Bari said that 68,884 vacancies were in first-class positions, covering grades one to nine. A further 129,166 posts remain vacant in second-class positions, corresponding to grades 10 to 12.

The highest shortfall is in third-class positions, with 146,799 unfilled posts across grades 13 to 16. In addition, 115,235 fourth-class positions, covering grades 17 to 20, remain vacant, alongside 8,936 unfilled posts in honorary, fixed-pay, and contractual categories.

To address the staffing shortages, the state minister said the government has formulated six-month, one-year, and five-year action plans.

Under the six-month plan, recruitment will be completed for 2,879 vacant posts under the public administration. A further 4,459 positions are expected to be filled within one year, while recruitment for another 3,110 posts will be completed within the next five years under the long-term plan.

He added that the strategy has been designed with the objective of recruiting 500,000 government employees in a transparent and efficient manner.

To expedite the process, public administration ministry has sent letters to all ministries and divisions seeking updated information on vacancies and the latest status of recruitment activities, the minister told parliament.