Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for fourth quarter 2019

Summary

Key points (based on headcount data) include:

• In December 2019, there were 561,400 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, accounting for 21.3% of total employment.
• In December 2019, employment in the public sector was 9,730 more than in December 2018.
• When major reclassifications are excluded, the public sector increased between December 2018 and December 2019 by around 7,000 (1.2%)^[1].
• Of the total 561,400 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, 505,200 (90.0%) were employed in the devolved public sector in December 2019, 8,300 (1.7%) more than in December 2018.
• Between December 2018 and December 2019, employment in the devolved public sector increased in Public Corporations by 130 (1.6%), in Local Government by 3,090 (1.2%), Further Education Colleges by 210 (1.5%), the NHS by 2,060 (1.3%), Civil Service by 2,420 (13.3%), Police and Fire Related Services by 260 (0.9%) and Other Public Bodies by 130 (0.8%)
• 56,300 (10.0%) people in the public sector were employed in the reserved public sector in Scotland, 1,440 (2.6%) more than in December 2018.
• Between December 2018 and December 2019, employment within the reserved public sector increased in Other Public Sector by 1,990 (9.8%) and decreased in the Civil Service by 550 (2.2%) and stayed the same for Armed Forces.