Of the 850,000 employed Latvians, about 290,000 work in the public sector. That is, for every five workers, there are three officials, which creates a serious hole in the treasury, writes Grani.lv.
These staggering figures were announced in the podcast Piķis un ģēvelis on TV3.lv by entrepreneur and member of the board of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK) Girts Rungainis. Here is what he said verbatim: "All the real profit in the country is earned — mainly through exports — by about five out of ten people. And it is these five who support the other three employed in the public sector."
In fact, we all know perfectly well about our monstrously bloated, absolutely ineffective, and at the same time unreasonably arrogant bureaucratic class. The worse things get in the country, the more bonuses it issues to itself. How many times has the State Audit revealed outrageous things: when an official was temporarily suspended from duty for poor performance — and at the same time was awarded a reward, or when officials mysteriously appeared to be both at their workplace and on a business trip, which allowed them to receive daily allowances in addition to their salaries. But no one was punished, and everything continues as before.
However, every time our abnormal disproportion in the number of bureaucrats per capita is announced, one is again struck with amazement. Even now, when Rungainis mentioned "three officials for five workers," the question once again hangs in the air — "how long?"
The paradox in salary levels particularly outrages the entrepreneur: in many cases, public servants earn more than private sector workers. According to him, hundreds of officials receive generous rewards that, given their level of responsibility and quality of work in a private company, they would hardly be able to earn.
Girts Rungainis believes that Latvia needs to seriously reconsider the employment structure and expenditures in the public sector; otherwise, the economy will continue to bear an excessive tax burden for an apparatus that does not create added value by itself.
Golden words — but what’s the point of repeating them? Our bureaucracy is the support of the ruling party, and the scheme is simple: officials vote for it, allowing it to remain in power, and it does not allow them (its most loyal voters) to be cut and encourages them with continuous salary increases and a rain of bonuses. That’s why all reforms with loud slogans like "let’s reduce bureaucracy!" invariably suffer a crushing failure.
So, in podcasts with outraged speeches, there could be another hundred such Rungainises — nothing will change. In search of funds for national defense (a priority today), the coalition will further cut funds for healthcare, education, and social assistance, but will not touch its sacred cow: the public sector.
And — a small addition: Rungainis cited not very accurate figures. Here are more precise ones, which were mentioned recently when data about another increase in bureaucratic salaries was published. We then wrote, based on the CSB: "In the first eight months of 2025, the salary increase was over 5.8%, and in some ministries — over 8%. These are colossal amounts, considering that out of the total number of employed Latvians (809,000 people), 288,000 are employed in the public sector."
This means that the imbalance in the ratio of "hardworking individuals to bureaucrats" is even higher than Rungainis states: he claims that 34% of employees in the public sector are from all working people in the country, while in reality, it is 35%.
And what? Nothing. Except for a reason for the public to once again stir up on social media and thus let off some steam.
