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News Release, September 30, 2005
ISBN 0 7559 1226 8 (Web only publication)
This document is also available in pdf format (512k)

This news release provides statistics on those employed in the public sector in Scotland. This covers all of the public sector as defined by UK National Accounts. Although data on individual sectors of this publication are already published and are of good quality the statistics on total public sector in this publication are experimental as the combination of these sectors is based on differing time periods and definitions. Any comparisons with data prior to quarter 1 2005 for the total public sector will be inconsistent and should be treated with caution. Work is currently ongoing to provide a consistent series back to 1999.

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 already classified as National Statistics. More information on this can be found in the notes for news editors.

This publication is also now the first release of Scottish Local Government employment statistics. These were previously published by the Executive in the Joint Staffing Watch Survey. More detailed statistics on Local Government employment are available at www.scotland.gov.uk/jointstaffingwatch or on request.

The statistics in this release are based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector organisations. These surveys are carried out by the Scottish 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 estimates for the whole of Scotland (not seasonally adjusted) and the public sector estimates.

ONS will also be publishing quarterly public sector employment statistics for the UK on 30 September 2005. These can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk

The statistics in this release will be produced quarterly.

Public and Private Sector Employment in Scotland (Headcount)

• In quarter 2 (Q2) 2005, there were 577,000 people employed in the public sector and 1,873,000 people employed in the private sector in Scotland.
• The public sector accounts for 23.6 per cent of employment in Scotland.

Civil Service in Scotland (Full-time equivalent - FTE)

• The total number of full-time equivalent Civil Servants employed in Scotland was 48,700 in Q2 2005. This was made up of 15,900 employed by the Scottish Executive and its associated agencies, and 32,800 employed by other Departments and Agencies.

Local Government (Full-time equivalent - FTE)

• Total full time-equivalent employment in Local Government was 259,600 in Q2 2005. This figure comprises: 56,200 teachers; 35,600 other education staff; 44,100 social workers; 22,300 police and related workers; 5,600 fire and related services; and 95,800 other staff.

NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS

1. This is the second in a regular new series of quarterly Scottish Public Sector Employment First Releases and results from the work of a cross-departmental project, led by ONS, to improve the quality and timeliness of public sector employment statistics. This publication includes the first publication of data for Quarter 2 2005 and also revises some figures from Quarter 1 2005.

2. The statistics on total public sector employment in this publication are experimental as this is a new series compiled from existing data which are not based on consistent time periods or definitions. Work is ongoing to provide a consistent time series of total public sector employment in Scotland back to 1999. It is hoped that this consistent time series will be available by December 2005. Data on NHS employment and Civil Service employment prior to Quarter 1 2005 are National Statistics.

3. An article setting out the full details of the improvements being made to estimates of public sector employment is accessible on the National Statistics website at the following address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/article.asp?ID=1095

CONCEPTS, SOURCES AND DEFINITIONS

4. The public sector comprises central government, local government, and public corporations as defined for the UK National Accounts. The Sector Classifications Guide (MA23) provides information on the classification of organisations and institutions in the National Accounts. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/SearchRes.asp?term=ma23

5. Central government includes all administrative departments of government and other central agencies and non-departmental public bodies. This sector also includes HM Forces and the NHS.

6. Data on NHS employment in Scotland for Q1 and Q2 2005 has been estimated using projections based on previous data. Information Services Division, NHS National Services Scotland, published workforce figures for some of the NHS in Q1 2005 on July 14 2005, however not all groups were covered. At present actual data on total NHS employment is only available in Q3 of each year. More detailed NHS data can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pParentID=799&pContentID=1346&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&

7. Local government comprises all government units with a local remit. It includes: Education teaching staff and Education other staff; Social Workers; Police and related services; Fire and related services; and other staff. Other staff contains: corporate services; central support; planning and economic development; housing; roads and transport; arts, sports and leisure; libraries, museums and galleries; trading standards; staff of district court; environmental services; and Direct Labour Organisation ( DLO) Direct Service Organisation ( DSO) staff. Joint Staffing Watch Survey data is collected based on those employed by Local Government organisations. Due to definitional issues, this data may differ from other sources of information for the individual sectors of Local Government. More information on these definitional issues can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/03/20889/55029

8. Public corporations are companies or quasi-corporations controlled by government. Examples include British Nuclear Fuels plc and the BBC. These companies receive more than half their income from sales of goods or services into the market place.

9. Headcount estimates are based on the number of employees with an employment contract who are being paid by the organisation. Employees can be permanent, on a fixed-term contract or employed on a casual basis. Self-employed, contract workers, and agency workers are excluded.

10. As well as the headcount estimates, estimates have also been produced for the number of employees on a full-time equivalent ( FTE) basis. This is based on converting part-time employees' hours into a full-time employee equivalent, and provides a better indicator of total labour input than a simple headcount.

11. The statistics published here are derived from the relevant departments and devolved governments plus comprehensive quarterly surveys of the home Civil Service, Non-Departmental Public Bodies, and Public Corporations, carried out by ONS. The following table shows the data sources used to calculate total public sector employment for Q1 2005.

Sources of Public Sector Employment estimates

Central Government

Department for Work and Pensions - Direct
Department for International Development - Direct
HM revenue and Customs - Direct
Other Central Government - Quarterly Public Sector Employees Survey

Local Government

Education Teachers - Joint Staffing Watch Survey
Education Others - Joint Staffing Watch Survey
Police and Related Services - Joint Staffing Watch Survey
Fire and Related Services - Joint Staffing Watch Survey
Social Work - Joint Staffing Watch Survey
Other staff - Joint Staffing Watch Survey

National Health Service - Information Services Division, NHS
National Services Scotland

HM Forces - Ministry of Defence
Public Corporations - Office for National Statistics. IDBR
Non-Departmental Public Bodies - Office for National Statistics. IDBR

Revisions

12. Data in this publication is revised where appropriate. These revisions are generally caused by revisions to other sources of data, such as the Labour Force Survey due to new population estimates, and revision to the projections in health data, as actual data becomes available. However some revisions are unforeseen due to revisions in survey estimates provided to the Office for National Statistics and revisions based on more up to date data. Any revisions will be highlighted in the data tables.

Future Publications

13. In future, public sector employment statistics will be published every quarter and the release timetable will be pre-announced in National Statistics Updates. The next quarterly first release will be published on Friday 13 January 2005.

14. Work is currently ongoing to make this publication a National Statistics publication.

General

15. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the press office. Also available is a list of the names of those given pre-publication access to the contents of this release.

INDEX OF TABLES

Table 1: Number of people employed by main sector; Scotland 2002 to 2005
Table 2: Public Sector Employment by Sector; Headcount
Table 3: Public Sector Employment by Sector; Full-time equivalent
Table 4a: Employment: Scottish Executive and Associated Agencies; Headcount
Table 4b: Employment: Other Civil Service in Scotland; Headcount
Table 5a: Employment: Scottish Executive and Associated Agencies; Full-time equivalent
Table 5b: Employment: Other Civil Service in Scotland; Full-time equivalent
Table 6: Public Sector Employment by Local Government; Headcount
Table 7: Public Sector Employment by Local Government; Full-time equivalent

Statistical Contact: Elaine Drennan 0141 242 5451
Press Contact: Karen McNally: 0131 244 2967
News release: Date: September 30 2005

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