About public sector employment statistics

The number of 16-24 year olds employed in the devolved public sector in Quarter 1 2022 were released on 14th June 2022. This is the ninth release of 16-24 year old employment data covering the Scottish devolved public sector. (There was no release in June 2020 due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties faced in data collection.)

The results from this survey showed that in Q1 2022, there were 25,690 young people aged 16-24 in employment in the devolved public sector in Scotland, accounting for 4.8 per cent of total employment in this sector. This is higher than the proportion of young people in employment in the devolved public sector in Q1 2021 which was 4.6%.

These statistics are Official Statistics and released alongside the total public sector employment statistics for Scotland. The total public sector series is a National Statistics product. The 16-24 year old data are released as Official Statistics to reflect the fact that this is a relatively new data series.

Coverage

In April 2022, Scottish Government Executive Agencies, Executive NDPBs, Public Corporations, Non-Ministerial Departments and Local Government organisations were asked to provide information on the number of young people (aged 16-24 years) employed in their organisations in March 2022. This information was supplemented by previously published information from NHS Scotland and an estimate for 16-24 year old employment within further education colleges based on existing information.

Further information on public bodies within Scotland is available here.

Data Tables

A breakdown of 16-24 year old employment in the devolved public sector is provided as part of the Public Sector Employment in Scotland: Statistics for Q1 2022 associated tables.

These figures are for a snap shot as at March 2022, some organisations may employ young people throughout the year although they are not in employment on the snap shot date due to seasonal demands on services.