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Public sector employment statistics
14/12/2011
There was a 30,300 rise in private sector employment in Scotland in the year to the third quarter of 2011, outweighing the fall in public sector employment of 23,500 over the same period.
There are now 193,000 more people in employment than there were in the third quarter of 1999. In the third quarter of 1999, total employment in Scotland was 2.293 million. In the third quarter of 2011, total employment is 2.486 million.
The private sector, including all financial institutions, now accounts for 77.7 per cent of Scottish employment, which is the highest share since devolution. In the third quarter of 1999, the directly comparable figure was 76.2 per cent.
Excluding the impact of public sector employment in the financial institutions, the public sector now accounts for 22.3 per cent of total employment in Scotland, the lowest since devolution.
Other findings from the Public Sector Employment in Scotland for the third quarter of 2011 are:
- Total employment in the devolved public sector decreased from 513,300 in Q3 2010 to 492,100 in Q3 2011, a decrease of 21,200, or 4.1 per cent, over the year. This was driven mainly by a decrease in local government employment, which decreased by 13,300, or 4.5 per cent, over the year
- Employment in the devolved civil service has decreased by 700 to 16,900 in Q3 2011 compared to 17,600 in Q3 2010
- Employment in the NHS has increased by 4,600 to 154,500 between Q3 2006 and Q3 2011
At September 30 2011, according to the Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics, there were 17,265 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland, an increase of 1,031 FTE officers since March 31, 2007.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
"In tough and challenging times, the number of new jobs created in the private sector was once again much higher than the number lost in the public sector over the year to the third quarter of 2011.
"Including all financial institutions, private sector employment is now at its highest share in Scotland since devolution, with overall employment up by nearly 200,000.
"In the Spending Review we announced an ambitious programme of public service reform, which challenged the public sector to reshape, integrate and deliver better services, consistent with the recommendations of the Christie Commission.
"In the face of severe spending cuts from Westminster, the Scottish Government has prioritised investment in frontline public services, including over 1,000 additional police officers since we came to office, and significantly more staff in the health service compared to the position we inherited.
"Our policy of no compulsory redundancies for staff under the Scottish Government's responsibility is helping maintain frontline staffing levels and supporting economic security as a driver of recovery."