Venezuelan State payroll has increased by 26.8 percent since a series of nationalizations began in the first semester of 2007, from 1,864,756 employees at the end of 2006 to 2,364,562 workers and employees at the end of the second half last year.
According to official data from the Venezuelan Statistics Institute (INE), the number of public employees in sectors such as manufacturing, transport and telecommunications grew considerably since the government began to nationalize these activities.
Concerning industries, from the end of 2006 through the end of 2009, the Venezuelan State payroll jumped from 17,448 to 37,234 workers -a 113.4 percent increase in just three years. In contrast, the number of workers and employees in the private manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace throughout the same period, rising from 1,333,447 to 1,421,311 workers, a moderate increase of 6.5 percent.
According to INE reports, transport and communications companies owned by the State employed 52,299 workers at the end of the second half of last year, but three years earlier, the public employee payroll amounted to 23,067 people. This means a 129 percent increase over that period.
Since early 2007, the Venezuelan government has nationalized key industries such as the top telecommunications company Cantv; steelmaker Sidor; cement companies, electricity companies, as well as food industries, retailers and banks.
Link:
http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/03/29/en_eco_esp_govnt-payroll-up-26_29A3662733.shtml