India’s public-sector banks (PSBs) are running a bit lean these days. As of June 30, PSBs had more than 32,500 vacant posts, according to fresh data shared by the Finance Ministry in Parliament on August 5. Despite having nearly 8 lakh sanctioned posts, over 4% remain unfilled across officer, clerk, and sub-staff levels.
Breaking it down, 17,500 vacancies were in officer roles, 12,861 in clerical positions, and 2,206 in sub-staff roles. But banks are still running the show—thanks, in part, to over 1.01 lakh outsourced and contract workers, who’ve been brought in for tasks like housekeeping, ATM security, and other non-core activities. This, as per the ministry, is in line with RBI’s guidelines.
Over the past five years, PSBs banks have recruited around 1.49 lakh people. And there’s more to come—48,570 new hires are in the pipeline for 2025-26. Still, vacancies remain. That’s because staffing levels are based on each bank’s assessment, which depends on factors like business needs, retirements, and sudden exits. So even though hiring is happening, it may not be keeping up with attrition.
Even as PSBs report a steady rise in their business volumes, they’ve been shrinking their workforce. In March 2024, loans handed out by PSBs stood at ₹85 lakh crore—38% higher than in March 2021. Yet during this same period, the number of bank employees fell by nearly 35,000.
Back in 2020-21, PSBs collectively employed about 7.9 lakh people. Since then, staff numbers dipped year after year—by 1.6% in 2021-22, 1.3% in 2022-23, and another 1.6% in 2023-24. It was only in 2024-25 that things ticked up slightly by 0.4%, taking the headcount to 7.58 lakh.
Only four banks have bucked the trend. Bank of Maharashtra added 16% more staff, Punjab & Sind Bank grew by 15%, Central Bank of India saw a modest 2% increase, and Punjab National Bank added just 1%. On the other hand, Indian Overseas Bank trimmed its workforce by a sharp 11%.