Overview of changes in the number of employees and salaries in public administration institutions

• Salary growth in public administration institutions in 2025 was slower than in the first years of the civil service reform.
• In 2025, as throughout the entire 2023–2025 period, the official salaries of state politicians and civil servants grew the fastest, while judges—whose salaries had increased the most during the first year of the reform—saw the smallest growth.
• Although the growth for both groups of managerial positions was similar in the first year of the reform, in the second year, the salaries of managers employed under employment contracts increased more rapidly than those of managers in the civil service.
• Differences in remuneration within municipal administrations remained significant.

The latest “Overview of Changes in Public Administration Staff and Salaries” conducted by the National Audit Office, which assesses the goal of the civil service reform implemented since 2024 to create a more competitive pay system, shows that salaries in public administration institutions continued to rise, but changes in remuneration in 2025 were not as significant as in the first years of the reform.
  
During the first year of the reform (2023–2024), the rate of gross salary growth in public administration institutions reached 13 percent, outpacing that of the private sector (9 percent) and the national economy as a whole (10 percent). In the second year (2024–2025), salary growth continued but slowed to 8 percent, nearly matching the growth rates of other sectors. Over the entire 2023–2025 period, salaries in public administration institutions increased by about 21 percent—slightly more than in the private sector (about 18 percent) and the national economy as a whole (about 20 percent), but less than in the public sector as a whole (about 23 percent).
  
“Salary growth is just one part of the civil service reform, not the ultimate goal. I urge the responsible institutions to assess the actual results of the reform. We should evaluate them through the lens of public administration efficiency—whether the system is becoming more attractive to professionals as salaries rise, whether the government apparatus is operating more flexibly, and whether citizens are receiving higher-quality services,” says Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
  
For many institutions, the most significant jump in the average salary was the change over a single year
  
Although salary growth in public administration institutions has continued into the second year of the civil service reform, the number of institutions able to afford rapid salary increases has dropped significantly. In the first year, average salaries increased by more than 15 percent in as many as 172 state-level institutions, while in the second year, only 55 out of 495 state-level institutions remained in this category. In both years, only 27 institutions maintained this rate of growth, mostly institutions in the field of education and science. The courts group also shows that the largest change in salaries occurred in the first year of the reform: in 2024, the average salary in institutions classified as part of the courts group increased by 19 percent, and in 2025, by 3 percent.
  
The salary gap in municipalities is not narrowing
  
An analysis of the situation in municipalities shows that, over the two years of the reform, salaries in their administrations have grown more consistently than in major state institutions; however, the salary gap between municipalities has not narrowed over the two years and has remained virtually unchanged. Large cities and resorts, such as Vilnius or Neringa, clearly dominate here, where the average monthly salary exceeded the 3,500-euro mark, while in the administrations of smaller municipalities, such as Lazdijai or Šakiai District, the average monthly salary did not even reach 2,000 euros.
  
The increase in manager remuneration aligns with the goals of the reform, while that of specialists remains the slowest
  
An analysis of job categories shows that the reform’s goal of strengthening the management cadre is best reflected in the growth of base salaries for employees in managerial positions. This need for growth was partly driven by the fact that, prior to the reform, the salaries of public administration managers were linked to a competitiveness issue. In 2025, state politicians and civil servants stood out with the largest increase in remuneration – 16 percent – and over the entire period, the base salary for this group also grew the fastest – 47 percent. In the group of judges, the main jump occurred in the first year of the reform, when the official salary increased by a 30 percent, while in 2025 the increase was negligible—2 percent.
  
In the second year of the reform, differing growth rates became apparent among managerial positions: the base salary of managers employed under employment contracts increased more rapidly than that of civil servants in managerial positions. In 2025, the base salary of managers employed under employment contracts rose by 13 percent, while that of civil servant managers rose by 8 percent. In the first year of the reform, growth for both groups was similar—around 15 percent.
  
Meanwhile, for advisors and specialists, base salaries increased by about 6 percent in the second year, and their growth remained the slowest. The average number of employees in all these job groups remained stable during both years of the reform and did not change significantly.
  
The data and results of the overview, presented in an interactive tool, allow for the analysis of information and the assessment of trends in changes in salaries and the number of employees: Microsoft “Power BI“