Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for second quarter 2018

3. Devolved Public Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount (see Table 4)

Employment in the devolved public sector was 1,730 (0.3%) higher, at 504,300 in June 2018 compared with 502,600 in June 2017.

The devolved public sector includes:

Devolved Civil Service (see section 5),

Local Government, covering Scottish Local Authorities, Police and Fire Services (up to Q1 2013), Valuation Joint Boards and Regional Transport Partnerships,

Police and Fire Services (Q2 2013 onwards),

NHS in Scotland,

Further Education Colleges,

Devolved Public Corporations,

Other Devolved Public Bodies (which covers Non-Departmental Bodies and other bodies).

Chart 4 shows the size of each group in the devolved public sector as at June 2018.

Chart 4: Breakdown of Devolved Public Sector Employment by Category as at June 2018, Headcount

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2 2018

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

The increase in the overall headcount in the devolved public sector was due to:

• Employment levels in Scottish Local Government rising by 1,210 (0.5%) to 244,000 in June 2018;

• Employment in the devolved civil service rising by 390 (2.3%);
• Employment in other public bodies rising by 190 (1.2%) to 15,900 in June 2018;
• Employment in public corporations rising by 40 (0.2%) to 23,000 in June 2018;
• Employment levels in the NHS increasing very slightly (with an increased headcount of 60 (0.0%)) to 162,300 in June 2018 ^[4] ;

while:

• The number of Police and Fire Service employees fell by 60 (0.2%) to 27,600 in June 2018.
• Employment in Further Education colleges fell by 100 (0.7%) to 13,800 in June 2018.

Figure 3: Percentage Change (from June 2017 to June 2018) in the Devolved Public Sector, Headcount