PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT IN SCOTLAND STATISTICS FOR 1st QUARTER 2014

The statistics in this release are based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector bodies carried out by the Scottish Government and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The publication includes information on public sector employment in Scotland with distinctions made for employment in devolved bodies and reserved bodies (located in Scotland).


Table 4: Total devolved public sector employment by sector; Scotland, Headcount

Not Seasonally Adjusted

  Total Devolved
Public Sector

NHS
Civil Service Police and Fire Services Further Education Colleges Other Public Bodies Local Government Public Corporations
Q1 1999 471,100 129,000 14,600   15,700 8,500 293,900 9,500
Q1 2008 526,000 154,300 16,800   16,900 15,200 316,000 6,900
Q1 2009 528,700 158,200 17,200   16,900 15,700 314,100 6,600
Q1 2010 521,100 160,800 17,600   16,000 15,800 304,300 6,600
Q1 2011 512,800 156,900 23,900   16,500 15,000 294,200 6,300
Q1 2012 491,200 154,400 16,600   15,200 14,400 284,300 6,300
Q1 2013 487,800 156,500 16,600   13,900 15,200 278,800 6,800
Q1 2014 487,400 158,800 16,900 28,700 13,700 13,900 248,000 7,400
Change on year to:              
Q1 2014 -400 2,200 300 28,700 -200 -1,400 -30,800 700
% change on year:              
Q1 2014 -0.1% 1.4% 2.0% n/a -1.7% -9.0% -11.0% 9.8%

Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred; percentages are based on unrounded figures.
2. Police and Fire Reform: Some of the change on year estimates will be affected by reclassification of organisations as a result of reforms to the police and fire services in Scotland. From Q2 2013 Police and Fire Services have been reclassified as central government rather than local government. This reclassification has had an impact on the staffing numbers in both these categories. Also, from Q2 2013 staffing levels for the Scottish Police Authority (previously Scottish Police Services Authority) are included within the Police and Fire Services category in the table above (previously included in other public bodies).
3. In October 2012 the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) merged with 3 colleges to form Scotland's Rural College. This new organisation is classified as a public body (as the SAC was). This has resulted in staffing levels moving from the Further Education to Other Public Bodies categories to reflect the merger of these organisations.
4. A number of local government staff have transferred to arms length organisations which are part of the private sector under National Accounts definitions. For example, staff transferred from Glasgow City Council to Cordia Limited Liability Partnership from 1 April 2009 thus explaining the decrease in local government employment between 2008 and 2009.
5. Information for further education colleges in Scotland is based on collected information from Q4 2010. The method used to create the back series is detailed in the background notes of this publication.
6. From Q4 2011, NHS has responsibility for employing Healthcare staff within prisons. Previously, these people were employed directly by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). Also, In Q2 2012 1,491 & 1062.1 WTE headcount staff transferred from Highland Council to NHS Highland as a result of the move to integrated health and social care services.
7. Detailed tables showing a full time series of data - all quarters back to Q1 1999 – are available to download from the Public Sector Employment Websection:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment

Contact

Email: Susanne Ross

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