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Public sector employment
12/09/2007
Statistics on those employed in the public sector in Scotland up to Quarter 2 of 2007 wer published today.
This covers all of the public sector as defined by UK National Accounts, and 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 Scottish Government in the Joint Staffing Watch Survey.
The statistics are based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector organisations. These surveys are carried out by the Scottish Government 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.
ONS will also be publishing quarterly public sector employment statistics for the UK on September 12, 2007.
The statistics in this release will be produced quarterly.
Main points:
Public and Private Sector Employment in Scotland (Headcount)
- In quarter 2 (Q2) 2007, there were 578,600 people employed in the public sector and 1,958,200 people employed in the private sector in Scotland
- Public sector employment in Scotland consists of Local Government including police and fire and related services (54.9 per cent), NHS (26.6 per cent), Civil Service (8.7 per cent), Public Corporations (4.4 per cent), Non Departmental Public Bodies (2.5 per cent) and Armed Forces (2.3 per cent)
- Public sector employment has increased by 51,200 (9.7 per cent) since Q2 1999 but decreased by 6,500 (1.1 per cent) since Q2 2006. The largest increase since 1999 was within Local Government (24,900) including education services, social work services and fire and police services
- The public sector currently accounts for 22.8 per cent of employment in Scotland which has decreased from 23.1 per cent in Q2 1999 and from 23.8 per cent in Q2 2006
Local Government (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
- Total full-time equivalent employment in Local Government (excluding Police, Fire and related services) was 229,200 in Q2 2007. This figure comprises: 57,500 teachers; 35,000 other education staff; 46,300 social work staff and 90,500 other staff
- In Q2 2007 total employment in police and related services was 23,200 and total employment in fire and related services was 5,600
- The number of teachers employed within Local Government has increased by 6.7 per cent since Q2 1999 and by 1.1 per cent since Q2 2006
- Other Education staff within Local Government has increased by 50.7 per cent since Q2 1999 but decreased by 2.4 per cent since Q2 2006. 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 32.9 per cent since Q2 1999 and by 5.0 per cent since Q2 2006
- The number of police and related services staff has increased by 16.9 per cent since Q2 1999 but decreased by 1.5 per centsince Q2 2006
- The number of fire and related services staff has increased by 3.5 per cent since Q2 1999 but decreased by 0.1 per cent since Q2 2006
- The number of other Local Government staff has decreased by 7.8 per cent since Q2 1999 and by 5.8 per cent since Q2 2006
Civil Service in Scotland (Full-Time Equivalent - FTE)
- The total number of full-time equivalent Civil Servants employed in Scotland was 47,100 in Q2 2007. This is an increase of 2.6 per cent since Q2 1999 but a decrease of 4.4 per cent since Q2 2006
- In Q2 2007 there were 15,500 permanent staff employed by the Scottish Government and its associated agencies. This is an increase of 13.2 per cent since Q2 1999 but a decrease of 0.7 per cent since Q2 2006
- In Q2 2007 there were 31,000 permanent staff employed by other Civil Service Departments and Agencies in Scotland. This is an increase of 0.9 per cent since Q2 1999 but a decrease of 4.4 per cent since Q2 2006
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 37,000 in Q2 2007. This is a decrease of 0.4 per cent since Q2 1999 and a decrease of 5.3 per cent since Q2 2006
- In Q2 2007 there were 23,500 FTE staff employed by Public Corporations. This is a decrease of 13.7 per cent since Q2 1999 and a decrease of 7.9 per cent since Q2 2006
- In Q2 2007 there were 13,600 FTE staff employed by NDPBs. This is an increase of 35.8 per cent since Q2 1999 but a decrease of 0.2 per cent since Q2 2006