Public Sector Employment in Scotland Statistics for 3rd Quarter 2022

Summary

Key points (based on headcount data) include:

• in September 2022, there were 593,400 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, accounting for 21.9% of total employment^[1].
• in September 2022, employment in the public sector was 9,040 (1.5%) more than in September 2021.
• when major reclassifications are excluded, the public sector increased between September 2021 and September 2022 by around 9,000 (1.6%)^[2].
• of the total 593,400 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 537,700 (90.6%) were employed in the devolved public sector in September 2022. This was 8,910 (1.7%) more than in September 2021.
• between September 2021 and September 2022, employment in the devolved public sector increased by:
• 4,320 (1.7%) in Local Government
• 3,710 (15.8%) in the devolved Civil Service
• 1,010 (0.6%) in the NHS
• 360 (2.8%) in Public Corporations
• 290 (1.9%) in Other Public Bodies

Employment in the devolved public sector decreased by:

• 640 (-2.3%) in Police and Fire Related Services
• 140 (-1.1%) in Further Education Colleges
• in September 2022, there were 55,700 people employed in the Reserved Public Sector in Scotland. This was 130 (0.2%) more than in September 2021. The Reserved Public Sector accounts for 9.4% of total public sector employment.
• between September 2021 and September 2022, employment within the Reserved Public Sector decreased in the reserved Civil Service by 530 (-2.1%). Employment increased in Armed Forces by 330 (3.3%) and in Other Public Sector^[3] by 340 (1.7%).