THE government workforce has grown to 2,098,943 as of June 30, 2025, a three percent increase from last year’s 2,037,456.
Data released by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) yesterday showed there are 1,873,504 career government employees comprising 89.26 percent of the total, while non-career personnel numbered 225,439 or 10.74 percent.
Classified as career service personnel are those who passed competitive examinations and enjoy security of tenure, while non-career employees are those who have limited tenure and did not undergo merit-based testing.
The data can be found in the 2025 Inventory of Government Human Resources (IGHR), an annual record of the personnel working in the entire government bureaucracy. The inventory provides insights into the composition, structure, and employment trends in the public sector.
The CSC said the information in the IGHR is intended “for academic and institutional research as well as for crafting responsive HR programs and promoting efficiency in various government agencies.”
Based on geographical distribution, the biggest number of government employees work in Metro Manila (National Capital Region) with 418,732, followed by Region 4 (Calabarzon and Mimaropa) with 276,734 in second place, and Region 3 (Central Luzon) with 184,246 in third place.
The Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) is at the opposite end of the scale with a total government workforce of 55,072.
Likewise, the 2025 IGHR showed women continued to do the heavy lifting in government work as they hold 67.09 percent of the total career civil service workforce at 1,256,892. Their male counterparts numbered 616,612 or 32.91 percent.
The non-career data, on the other hand, flips the figures with males comprising 53.79 percent of the count (121,253) while women represent 46.21 percent (104,186).
While the annual IGHR showed continuing growth of the career and non-career workforce, Metro Manila bucked the trend with the tally dropping for the second year in a row.
The 2023 IGHR showed there were 440,009 government employees working in NCR but it dipped to 425,927 in 2024 before dropping further to 418,732 based on this year’s inventory.
A closer look at the figures showed the decline is attributable to a lower number of personnel hired by NCR-based government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), which decreased from 70,331 in 2023 to 68,660 in 2024, and 62,792 in 2025.
