Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for third quarter 2019

3. Devolved Public Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount

(see Table 3)

Employment in the devolved public sector was 14,600 (3.0%) higher, at 504,500 in September 2019 compared with 489,900 in September 2018.

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 2019.

Chart 4: Breakdown of Devolved Public Sector Employment by Category as at September 2019, Headcount

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 3 2019
Note: Totals may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding

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

• Employment levels in Scottish Local Government rising by 9,670 (4.0%) to 253,000 in September 2019 (this was mainly due to Cordia services moving back under Glasgow City Council services);
• Employment in the Devolved Civil Service rising by 2,510 (14.1%) to 20,300 in September 2019;
• Employment levels in the NHS rising by 1,860 (1.1%) to 164,800 in September 2019;^[5]
• Employment in Further Education Colleges rising by 110 (0.8%) to 13,900 in September 2019.
• The number of Police and Fire Service employees rising by 550 (2.0%) to 28,100 in September 2019.
• Employment in Public Corporations rising by 50 (0.5%) to 9,000 in September 2019;

while:

• Employment in Other Public Bodies fell by 130 (0.8%) to 16,000 in September 2019;

Figure 3: Percentage Change (from September 2018 to September 2019) in the Devolved Public Sector, Headcount