Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for second quarter 2018

2. Public Sector Employment by Devolved and Reserved Responsibility; Headcount (see Tables 3, 4 and 5)

The devolved public sector headcount was higher (0.3%) while the reserved public sector was lower (3.0%) in June 2018 than in June 2017. The civil service saw the largest increase (2.3%) in the devolved sector. Public bodies in the reserved public sector were 4.2% higher than in June 2017, despite the overall reduction in headcount.

The devolved public sector covers those bodies which are the responsibility of the Scottish Government or Scottish Parliament while the reserved public sector in Scotland covers those bodies for which the UK Government has ministerial responsibility.

Figure 2: Make-up of the Scottish Public Sector as at June 2018, Headcount ^[3]

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2 2018

Changes in the devolved and reserved public sector are explored in more detail in sections 3 and 4 respectively.

Chart 3 below shows that the overall public sector in Scotland increased very slightly (with an increased headcount of 50 (0.0%)) between June 2017 and June 2018, and how this is split between the devolved and reserved public sector. Chart 3 also shows the estimated impact of removing major reclassifications from the series.

Chart 3: Annual Change (from June 2017 to June 2018) in Public Sector Employment by Devolved and Reserved Responsibility, Headcount

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2 2018

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of individual parts due to rounding