A total of 521,922 posts across various government ministries, departments and offices remained vacant, State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari told Parliament on Tuesday.
He disclosed the figure while replying to a question from ruling BNP lawmaker Khairul Kabir Khokon during the question-and-answer session in the House, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.
In response to another question from BNP MP Sarwar Jamal Nizam, the state minister provided a breakdown of the vacant posts by category.
According to the figures, 73,380 posts are vacant in the first class, 129,246 in the second class, 179,542 in the third class and 135,338 in the fourth class. Another 4,416 vacancies fall under other categories.
Replying to Khokon's question, Bari said the figures were based on data updated up to June 2025.
He said the government had already adopted short-, medium- and long-term recruitment plans covering six months, one year and five years respectively to fill the vacancies.
The Ministry of Public Administration has written to other ministries and divisions seeking updated information on their recruitment progress and vacancies as part of the government's plan to recruit 500,000 public employees transparently and swiftly.
The state minister said all ministries and divisions had also been requested to publish recruitment notices as soon as possible and prepare time-bound action plans to fill vacant posts. “Recruitment activities have already begun across ministries and divisions.”
In a supplementary question, Khokon asked whether the government planned to investigate appointments made during the previous administration through fake freedom fighter certificates, political considerations, corruption and other unethical means, and remove those whose irregularities were established to make way for qualified candidates.
In reply, Bari said the government would review cases where allegations or specific evidence of irregularities emerged and take appropriate action.
He added that existing vacancies were being filled and that any new vacancies arising from such action would also be filled on the basis of merit and qualifications.
National Citizen Party (NCP) MP Hasnat Abdullah, in another supplementary question, criticised the state minister for repeating an answer that had been given in Parliament five months and 22 days earlier, on May 18, by the then information and broadcasting minister.
He said the response offered no updated information on whether any new appointments had been made in the intervening period or when further recruitment would take place.
Questioning whether the government had any concrete plan to address unemployment through public sector recruitment, Hasnat urged the minister to provide a fresh and specific response rather than simply read out a prepared statement.
In reply, Bari said recruitment was continuing through the regular process across government offices and departments, from district-level establishments to central offices, as well as through the Bangladesh Public Service Commission.
He said the vacancy figures were updated every six months and the government was collecting recruitment data from all relevant offices.
The state minister expressed hope that the consolidated figures would be presented to Parliament by the end of this year, showing how many appointments had been completed during the period.
In response to a supplementary question from reserved-seat MP Mst Nazmun Nahar, he also said intelligence activities along the country's border areas were continuing as part of routine operations.
Bari said the government was kept informed through intelligence activities whenever a crime occurred or there was a possibility of one taking place in those areas.
Separately, replying to a question from reserved-seat MP Nipun Roy Chowdhury, he said his ministry and its subordinate offices and agencies had set recruitment targets of 2,879 posts within six months, 4,449 within one year and 3,110 within five years.