Banking sector employees: a decline of 1,022

The banking sector has annually provided hundreds of job opportunities over the past years and decades, thus contributing to reducing unemployment. However, in recent years, job opportunities as well as the number of employees in the banking sector have gradually declined. Table No. 1 below shows that most of the retired and resigned employees have not been replaced.

-During the years 2000-2019, the number of bank employees has increased by 9,671 or 63.6%. The highest increase was recorded in 2017, at 26,005 employees.

-The years 2000-2017 (excluding 2004) witnessed successive increases in the number of employees (between 92 and 1,543), with an average annual increase of 600 employees.

-The number has decreased by 97 employees in 2018, down to 1,022 in 2019. The trend appears to continue in the coming years due to bank failures and talks about bank mergers and branch closure.

Table No. 1: Evolution of the number of bank employees (2000-2019).

Source: ABL annual report (2000-2019).

Cost of bank employee

The cost of bank employee reached LBP 620 billion in 2000. Table No. 2 below shows that it has increased to LBP 2,040 in 2019. The average annual cost of employee has risen from LBP 40.7 million to LBP 82 million, i.e. an increase of 100%.

Table No. 2: Cost of bank employee (2000-2019).

Source: ABL annual report (2000-2019).