The government will put about 25,000 new workers on the public payroll from January 2027, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said in a TV3 interview on 13 November, the day after he presented the Budget to Parliament.
The intake covers "10,000 nurses, 10,000 teachers" and "about 5,000 other public sector workers", 3News reported. He said he would be "signing the financial clearance" to the ministries "by Monday", 16 November, so that recruitment can be announced.
The Budget gives no such total. StatsGH searched the 2027 Budget Statement and the Budget Speech. Neither states a recruitment total or the 10,000/10,000/5,000 split.
The documents are not silent on hiring. The Statement says the government "recruited and deployed 7,000 teaching and non-teaching staff to underserved schools" and "will recruit additional teachers for basic schools, and instructors for senior high schools and TVET Institutions" in 2027, without saying how many (para 1351).
It also records an existing financial clearance to recruit 16,000 health professionals, with 8,600 already on the payroll (para 1406).
How big is 25,000?
The Public Services Commission's 2026 budget estimates say 708,000 staff, about 95% of those on the government's mechanised payroll, are on its Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS). Measured against those 708,000 staff on HRMIS, 25,000 hires equal about 3.5% of the workforce.
Against the full payroll implied by the 95% figure, it is closer to 3.4%. The 2027 Budget updates the coverage rate to 98.5% of mechanised-payroll staff, but it does not publish a new headcount (para 1101).
People. Red: the Finance Minister's 25,000 January pledge by group. Different bases, not additive.
Source: Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, TV3 interview via 3News, 13 Nov 2026 (pledge); 2027 Budget Statement para 1406 (16,000 health clearance, 8,600 on payroll; 82,629 trainees paid allowances Jan–Jul 2026). StatsGH calculation.
The wage bill is set to grow faster than the base-pay award, though the Budget does not label a hiring pot. In Appendix 3A, wages and salaries rise to GH¢92.7 billion in 2027, from a projected GH¢81.4 billion for 2026 in Appendix 2A. That is 13.8% more.
The agreed base-pay rise is 9%, of which 1 percentage point is earmarked for conditions of service (para 665). The Budget does not say how much of the remaining 4.8 points is for new hires, rather than promotions, increments or other costs.
StatsGH has previously set out what the 9% rise means for take-home pay.
Set against the queue
The nurses' share looks small next to the pipeline. The Health Ministry paid nursing training allowances to 82,629 trainees between January and July 2026 (para 1406).
The 10,000 nursing posts equal 12% of that number. Not all trainees graduate in the same year, so this is a rough guide only.
The existing health clearance still leaves 7,400 posts unfilled. It is not clear whether the new 10,000 nursing posts include them.
For 2027 the Budget sets aside GH¢434 million for nursing trainee allowances and GH¢227 million for teacher trainee allowances (paras 1563 and 1560). That GH¢661 million pays trainees, not new staff.
What people on X are saying
TV3 posted a clip of the minister saying "In this budget, we are employing 10,000 nurses and 10,000 teachers" (@tv3_ghana). Some posts went further than the record. @discussghana_ linked the pledge to the minister "Presenting the 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament".
The 25,000 total is from the later TV3 interview, not the presentation; the Statement contains no such figure. @babamusah08 attributed to him the words "after this budget is approved by parliament, starting January 2027, 25,000 people will be employed". That conditional matters: the Budget is still a proposal before Parliament.
Others asked who is left out. @labdoctorsghana called the plan "commendable" but asked: "what about MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTISTS ... and allied health professionals in general?"
What it means
Asked why more trained nurses and teachers could not be absorbed at once, the minister said the government must balance hiring against other spending, 3News reported. The Budget itself warns that compensation rose from 29.3% of total expenditure in 2020 to 33.8% in 2025. It promises staffing ceilings and quarterly recruitment reports (paras 1036-1037).
Limitations
The 25,000 figure comes from an interview, not a budget document. No recruiting agencies, application process or regional split have been published.
The 708,000 figure dates from the 2026 budget estimates and is approximate; the 2027 Budget's 98.5% HRMIS coverage has no new headcount. Whether the 10,000 nursing posts include the 7,400 still unused from the existing health clearance is not stated.
Sources
- 3News, "Ato Forson tells TV3 the government will hire 25,000 nurses, teachers and others from January", 13 Nov 2026
- The Vaultz News, "25,000 Public Sector Workers To Be Recruited In 2027", 13 Nov 2026
- Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, 12 Nov 2026, paras 665, 1036-1037, 1101, 1351, 1406, 1560, 1563; Appendix 2A and 3A, Summary of Central Government Operations
- Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Speech, 12 Nov 2026
- Ministry of Finance, 2026 Programme Based Budget Estimates, Public Services Commission, p.7
- StatsGH, "A GHS 4,000 public-sector earner keeps GHS 255 a month from the 9% pay rise after tax", 13 Nov 2026
- X posts: @tv3_ghana; @tv3_ghana; @discussghana_; @babamusah08; @labdoctorsghana