The State Department is calling back its furloughed diplomats next week after shifting money to payroll from other accounts, but the returning employees will still have to wait to get their retroactive pay, officials said Thursday.

The decision to recall diplomats was announced by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan during a luncheon for more than 180 ambassadors attending an annual conference. He received what one official described as two “rousing” rounds of applause.

Officials said a review of the State Department’s various accounts came up with enough money to pay half a month of payroll. Beyond that, officials cautioned they will have to see if they can identify other funds that can be tapped should the shutdown extend beyond that.

Though the number of furloughed employees has shifted from week to week, currently 40 percent of the 14,500 working in the United States are furloughed, as are 23 percent of 9,500 working overseas.

All State Department employees are being recalled to regular duty with pay effective Sunday, which marks the start of the next pay period. In effect, that means most will not return to work until Tuesday, because Monday is a federal holiday. They will receive a regular paycheck on the next payday, Feb. 14.

Officials said the decision was made because a “full team” is needed to address issues around the world, and out of concern for the financial hardship and uncertainty affecting State Department employees.

Because the money comes from available funds on hand, the employees will still have to wait to be paid retroactively for the four weeks of pay they missed.

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