This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Public sector employment
14/03/2007
Statistics on those employed in the public sector in Scotland up to the fourth quarter of 2006 were published today, covering all of the public sector as defined by UK National Accounts.
This provides a complete quarterly series from Quarter 1, 1999 onwards. The quarterly data in this publication are not seasonally adjusted and therefore comparisons between years should only be made for the same quarter.
This publication is also the official release of Scottish Local Government employment statistics. These were previously published by the Executive in the Joint Staffing Watch Survey.
The statistics in this release are based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector organisations. These surveys are carried out by the Executive and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). An estimate of private sector employment is also included in this release. This is derived as the difference between the Labour Force Survey employment estimate for the whole of Scotland (not seasonally adjusted) and the public sector estimate.
MAIN POINTS
Public and Private Sector Employment in Scotland (Headcount)
- In quarter 4 (Q4) 2006, there were 582,300 people employed in the public sector and 1,933,700 people employed in the private sector in Scotland
- Public sector employment in Scotland consists of Local Government including police and fire and related services (55.0 per cent), NHS (26.1 per cent), Civil Service (8.9 per cent), Public Corporations (4.6 per cent), Non Departmental Public Bodies (2.5 per cent) and Armed Forces (2.3 per cent)
- Public sector employment has increased by 49,300 (9.3 per cent) since Q4 1999 but decreased by 2,100 (0.4 per cent) since Q4 2005. The largest increase since 1999 was within Local Government (24,600) including education services, social work services and fire and police services
- The public sector currently accounts for 23.1 per cent of employment in Scotland which is the same as in Q4 1999 but has decreased from 23.8 per cent in Q4 2005
Local Government (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
- Total full-time equivalent employment in Local Government (excluding Police, Fire and related services) was 230,300 in Q4 2006. This figure comprises: 57,700 teachers; 35,900 other education staff; 44,600 social work staff and 92,000 other staff
- In Q4 2006 total employment in police and related services was 23,700 and total employment in fire and related services was 5,700
- The number of teachers employed within Local Government has increased by 6.3 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 1.2 per cent since Q4 2005
- Other Education staff within Local Government has increased by 43.8 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 0.8 per cent since Q4 2005. Other Education staff include other staff within schools such as classroom assistants, music instructors, laboratory assistants, library staff, clerical staff etc
- The number of Social Work staff working within Local Government has increased by 21.7 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 0.3 per cent since Q4 2005
- The number of police and related services staff has increased by 20.9 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 1.6 per cent since Q4 2005
- The number of fire and related services staff has increased by 3.1 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 1.1 per cent since Q4 2005
- The number of other Local Government staff has decreased by 4.2 per cent since Q4 1999 and by 4.1 per cent since Q4 2005
Civil Service in Scotland (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
- The total number of full-time equivalent Civil Servants employed in Scotland was 48,600 in Q4 2006. This is an increase of 6.5 per cent since Q4 1999 but a decrease of 0.8 per cent since Q4 2005
- In Q4 2006 there were 15,500 permanent staff employed by the Scottish Executive and its associated agencies. This is an increase of 13.6 per cent since Q4 1999 and an increase of 0.1 per cent since Q4 2005
- In Q4 2006 there were 31,900 permanent staff employed by other Civil Service Departments and Agencies in Scotland. This is an increase of 3.8 per cent since Q4 1999 but a decrease of 0.9 per cent since Q4 2005
Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and Public Corporations (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
- Changes in the number of staff employed within NDPBs and Public Corporations are caused by changes in the number, scope and classification of NDPBs and Public Corporations as well as increases in staff within organisations
- The total number of full-time equivalent staff working in NDPBs and Public Corporations was 37,800 in Q4 2006. This is a decrease of 2.9 per cent since Q4 1999 and a decrease of 8.8 per cent since Q4 2005
- In Q4 2006 there were 24,400 FTE staff employed by Public Corporations. This is a decrease of 15.4 per cent since Q4 1999 and a decrease of 13.3 per cent since Q4 2005
- In Q4 2006 there were 13,500 FTE staff employed by NDPBs. This is an increase of 32.7 per cent since Q4 1999 and an increase of 0.8 per cent since Q4 2005
ONS will also be publishing quarterly public sector employment statistics for the UK on March 14, 2007. These can be found on the National Statistics website.
Any comments on the presentation of these statistics should be sent to:
labour-market.statistics@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.
Selected individual elements of this series are classified as National Statistics.
The statistics in this release will be produced quarterly.