Civil Service Recruitment Options for 2026 Amid Limited State Budget

State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi stated that civil service candidate (CASN) recruitment this year will take into account the nation’s fiscal capacity. Consequently, civil service recruitment in 2026 will employ a prioritised needs scheme, particularly to fulfil staffing requirements for government priority programmes.

“There may be certain priorities that must be addressed first. We must consider the condition of fiscal capacity,” said Prasetyo following a meeting with several ministers at the Ministry of Defence office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

The meeting was attended by Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widyantini; Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti; Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto; Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono; Minister of Internal Affairs Tito Karnavian; and Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Cooperatives Farida Farichah, Head of the State Personnel Board Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, and Head of the Central Statistics Agency Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti.

Prasetyo stated that President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his team to redesign staffing requirements for government priority programmes. Each ministry has submitted its staffing needs. However, Prasetyo was unable to disclose the exact number of civil service positions needed as the figures remain subject to change.

The Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform has also requested regional governments to map staffing requirements in their respective areas. The central government is currently compiling data on existing civil servants. “So we are currently seeking the convergence point,” said Prasetyo.

According to Prasetyo, civil servants reach retirement age annually. Therefore, to maintain fiscal capacity, civil service recruitment will be adjusted according to the number of civil servants retiring.

The Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform recorded approximately 160,000 civil servants retiring in 2025.

Today, several ministers from the Red and White Cabinet held a meeting at the Ministry of Defence office in Central Jakarta. Deputy Defence Minister Air Marshal (Retired) Donny Ermawan Taufanto stated that the meeting was to follow up on an instruction from President Prabowo Subianto during a meeting in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Sunday, 8 March 2026.