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Publication - Statistics

Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for first quarter 2020

Published
16 June 2020
Directorate
Chief Economist Directorate
Topic
Economy, Public sector, Work and skills
ISBN
9781839608278

Statistics based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector bodies carried out by the Scottish Government and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is a snapshot of employment as at March 2020.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Summary

Summary infographic

Summary infographic: Overview of Public Sector Employment in Scotland as at March 2020, Headcount

  • In March 2020, there were 561,900 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 1.2% more than in March 2019.
  • In March 2020, there were 2,081,900 people employed in the private sector in Scotland, 1.8% less than in March 2019.
  • Over the year, the devolved public sector headcount increased and reserved public sector headcount decreased.
  • 508,700 were employed in the devolved public sector in March 2020, 1.7% more than in March 2019.
  • Local Government and NHS employ the most employees in the devolved public sector.
  • In March 2020, in the devolved public sector, there were 253,000 people employed in Local Government, 167,000 employed in NHS, 28,400 employed in Police and Fire, 21,100 employed in Civil Service, 15,900 employed in Other Public Bodies, 14,400 employed in Further Education Colleges and 8,000 employed in Public Corporations.
  • Between March 2019 and March 2020, employment in the devolved public sector increased in Public Corporations by 0.4%, in Local Government by 1.1%, Further Education Colleges by 1.1%, Police and Fire Related Services by 1.7%, the NHS by 1.8%, and Civil Service by 13.1%, and decreased only in Other Public Bodies by 0.9%.
  • Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry were classified as public sector from Q2 2019. Community Justice Scotland was classified as public sector from Q2 2017.
  • 53,300 people in the public sector were employed in the reserved public sector in Scotland in March 2020, 3.2% less than in March 2019.
  • In March 2020, in the reserved public sector, there were 24,000 people employed in Civil Service, 19,600 employed in Other Public Sector, and 9,700 employed in Armed Forces.
  • Between March 2019 and March 2020, employment within the reserved public sector decreased in both Other Public Sector and Civil Service by 3.9%. Armed Forces was unchanged.

Key points (based on headcount data) include:

  • In March 2020 there were 561,900 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, accounting for 21.3% of total employment.
  • In March 2020, employment in the public sector was 6,930 more than in March 2019.
  • When major reclassifications are excluded, the public sector increased between March 2019 and March 2020 by around 6,000 (1.2%).[1]
  • Of the total 561,900 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 508,700 (90.5%) were employed in the devolved public sector in March 2020, 8,700 (1.7%) more than in March 2019.
  • Between March 2019 and March 2020, employment in the devolved public sector increased in Public Corporations by 30 (0.4%), in Local Government by 2,810 (1.1%), Further Education Colleges by 160 (1.1%), Police and Fire Related Services by 470 (1.7%), the NHS by 2,910 (1.8%), and Civil Service by 2,460 (13.1%), and decreased only in Other Public Bodies by 150 (0.9%).
  • 53,300 (9.5%) people in the public sector were employed in the reserved public sector in Scotland, 1,770 (3.2%) less than in March 2019.
  • Between March 2019 and March 2020, employment within the reserved public sector decreased in Other Public Sector by 800 (3.9%) and the Civil Service by 970 (3.9%) and stayed the same for Armed Forces.

About this publication

Major Reclassifications

The estimates of public and private sector employment published in this quarter's release have been impacted by the reclassification of Scottish Registered Social Landlords, which are included in the private sector from September 2018 but are included in the public sector from September 2001 to June 2018. This reclassification has resulted in around 15,000 employees who were included in the public sector up until June 2018 being included in the private sector estimates for September 2018 onwards.

An outline of other major reclassifications which have taken place in the Scottish public sector since 2013 are outlined here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/about-public-sector-employment-statistics/pages/classifications/

A separate public sector series excluding the effects of these major reclassifications has been included in this publication to show the impact of the reclassifications on the number of people employed in the public sector.

More information is available on the Public Sector Employment Web Section.

National Accounts Classifications

An outline of National Accounts classifications which have taken place in the Scottish public sector since 2015 are outlined here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/about-public-sector-employment-statistics/pages/classifications/

Public Sector Employment Web section

The Public Sector Employment Web section provides additional information to this National Statistics publication https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-sector-employment-statistics-web-tables/

It contains detailed information including:

  • Local government employment by local authority for the current quarter. A time series of total local government employment from Q1 2000 and by gender from Q1 2011.
  • Detailed tables showing a full time series of data - all quarters back to Q1 1999 - are also available to download.
  • Background notes outlining the methodology used to compile this series.
  • Employment levels for public bodies in Scotland for 16-24 year olds (Q1 2013, Q1 2014, Q1 2015, Q1 2016, Q1 2017, Q1 2018 and Q1 2019). Information was not collected in Q1 2020.

UK Comparisons

Public Sector Employment for Government Office Regions and Nations of the UK can be found in the Office for National Statistics Publication.

Comparisons to UK data should be made using non-seasonally adjusted UK data.

See the regional tables at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pse/public-sector-employment/index.html.

Background Notes

Statistics prior to Q1 2008 are estimates. These have been calculated using the total UK reserved public sector employment figure and applying to Scotland on a pro-rata basis as regional level data has only been collected from Q1 2008 onwards.

Background notes about the information contained in our PSE series are available at the following web section: https://www.gov.scot/publications/about-public-sector-employment-statistics/pages/background-notes/

Next Publication: September 2020

Contact

Email: LMStats@gov.scot

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