Public sector pay strategy 2023 to 2024

Annex B Employment in the Public Sector in Scotland

Employment in the public sector in Scotland

Employment (headcount) in the public sector in Scotland was 594,500 as of December 2022, representing around a fifth (21.9%) of all employment in Scotland^[2]. The proportion of people in employment in the public sector across the UK as a whole was 17.7%^[3].

Of the total 594,500 people employed in the public sector in Scotland, just over 90% are working in the devolved public sector.

The breakdown of the devolved public sector (headcount) is illustrated below. As can be seen, over 80% of people in the devolved public sector are employed in either Local Government or the NHS.

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

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2022

Since December 2019, employment (headcount) in the devolved public sector in Scotland has increased by 34,460 (6.8%) to 538,700 in December 2022. This compares with the private sector which was estimated to have increased by 45,980 (2.2%) to 2,125,700 over the same period.

The Resource Spending Review included commitments to hold the total public sector pay bill (excluding Local Government) at around 2022-23 levels whilst returning the overall size of the public sector (excluding Local Government) broadly to pre-COVID-19 levels. The overall aim was to ensure sustainable public bodies. Following further analysis and engagement, our proposal on how we achieve sustainable public bodies evolved and in the 2023-24 Budget, we set out that it is for individual public bodies to locally determine the target operating model for their workforces and to ensure workforce plans and projections are affordable in 2023-24 and in the medium term.

This change recognised the relative size of public bodies within the devolved public sector – in particular, almost two-thirds of employment (FTE) in the devolved public sector, excluding Local Government, is in the NHS which has grown by almost 13,500 FTE (around 10%) since 2019. It also recognised the accountability of public bodies to deliver efficiently and effectively within their budget and that budget allocations reflect our priorities.

The chart below shows a further breakdown of the devolved public sector in Scotland (FTE) including change since December 2019.

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 4 2022, Social Security Scotland – workforce information: December 2022

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding. Remaining devolved public sector includes other devolved public bodies, public corporations, and further education colleges.