Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for second quarter 2018

Summary

Key points (based on headcount data) include:

• In June 2018, there were 559,500 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 50 more than in June 2017. In June 2018, public sector employment accounted for 21.1% of total employment.
• Of the total 559,500 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 90.1% were employed in the devolved public sector. 504,300 were employed in the devolved public sector in June 2018, 1,730 (0.3%) more than in June 2017.
• Over the year, employment in the devolved public sector decreased in Police and Fire Related Services by 60 (0.2%) and Further Education Colleges by 100 (0.7%) and increased in the NHS by 60 (0.0%), Local Government by 1,210 (0.5%), Public Corporations by 40 (0.2%) and Civil Service by 390 (2.3%).
• 55,200 (9.9%) of people in the public sector were employed in the reserved public sector in Scotland, 1,680 (3.0%) less than in June 2017.
• Over the year, employment within the reserved public sector decreased in Public Corporations & Public Sector Financial Institutions by 820 (7.1%), in the Armed Forces by 280 (2.7%) and in the Civil Service by 1,000 (3.9%) and increased in Public Bodies by 410 (4.2%).

About this publication

Major Reclassifications

An outline of major reclassifications which have taken place in the Scottish public sector since 2013 are outlined here: https://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment

A separate public sector series excluding the effects of 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/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment

Public Sector Employment Web section

The Public Sector Employment Web section provides additional information to this National Statistics publication http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment

It contains detailed information including:

• Employment levels for public bodies in Scotland for 16-24 year olds (Q1 2013, Q1 2014, Q1 2015, Q1 2016, Q1 2017 and Q1 2018).
• Local government employment by local authority for the current quarter. A time series of total local government employment from Q1 1999 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.

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: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/SourcesDef

Next Publication: December 2018