Two Civil Servant Hires Per Aussie Miner Now Face Cuts
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Twice as many civil servants than mining workers were hired in Australia’s 10-year resources boom, enlarging the bureaucracy and inflating public spending. Cutting back is now a priority for a government seeking budget savings.
In the 10 years through June 2013, 375,000 public sector workers were taken on compared with 173,200 mining workers, according to government data compiled by Bloomberg. Even as the mining boom boosted growth and tax receipts, the ballooning government wages bill added to strains on the budget and helped push sovereign debt to a record A$318 billion ($295 billion).