The number of government employees has recorded a significant decrease this year, according to Cystat data released on Monday.

According to Cystat, the total number of government employees in October 2012 recorded a decline of 1877 persons to 51,378 from 53,255 last year.

Compared with September 2012, there has been an increase of 540 persons.

The annual decline is mostly attributable to the public service. The number of civil servants fell by 1263 persons to 18,623 from 19,886.

The decline may be due partly to the increased number of early retirements.

A decrease of 152 persons is observed in the number of employees in education to 13,040 from 13.192, while a decline of 335 is registered in the number of hourly paid staff.

The reduction in the number of employees in security forces is smaller.

The government’s aim is to reduce the number of civil servants by 1000 per annum.

Troika seems to demand a reduction by 1500 civil servants per annum.