Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for third quarter 2018

3. Devolved Public Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount

(see Table 4)

Employment in the devolved public sector was 13,520 (2.7%) lower, at 489,700 in September 2018 compared with 503,300 in September 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 September 2018.

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

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 3 2018

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

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

• Employment in Public Corporations falling by 14,730 (63.5%) to 8,000 in September 2018, mainly due to Registered Social Landlords being reclassified to the private sector in the last year;

• Employment levels in Scottish Local Government falling by 300 (0.1%) to 243,000 in September 2018;
• The number of Police and Fire Service employees fell by 100 (0.4%) to 27,600 in September 2018.

While:

• Employment in the Devolved Civil Service rose by 650 (3.8%);
• Employment in Other Public Bodies rose by 410 (2.6%) to 16,000 in September 2018;
• Employment levels in the NHS rose by 250 (0.2%) to 162,900 in September 2018^[6];
• Employment in Further Education Colleges rose by 300 (2.2%) to 13,800 in September 2018.

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