Jun 2009 22

Public Sector Employment5

Last Wednesday the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published it's quarterly statistical bulletin for Public Sector Employment. Total public sector employment at March 2009 sat at 6.020 million, 20.7% of UK total employment.

Providing information for the first quarter of 2009, this is the first release to include the workers of RBS and Lloyds, (although the ONS have revised 2008 Q4 estimates to factor in these bank workers); "the classification of Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Lloyds Banking Group to the public sector increases employment in the public sector for Quarter 4 2008 by 230,000".

The headline figures show an increase of 285,000 since Q1 2008, and a quarterly increase from Q4 of 2008 of 3,000. With bank workers stripped out, 55,000 new employees have joined the public sector since this time last year. 

The rise on Q4 2008 is broken down as such:

Central government (which includes the NHS) increased by 12,000, to 2,541,000;
Local government increased by 2,000, to 2,907,000; 
Public corporations increased by 1,000 to 572,000 (230,000 of which are the bank employees);
Civil Service increased by 3,000 to 526,000.

The public sector 'industries' that have seen the biggest rises in headcount are education (9,000) and HM Forces (2,000).

Over the same period, employment in the private sector fell by 286,000. While 230,000 of these will be the RBS and Lloyds employees, 'lost' to the private sector in their reclassification to public sector, this still means private sector employment fell by 56,000 in the first quarter of 2009. As this is roughly equivalent to the number of jobs created in public sector, perhaps the Government's strategy for dealing with rising unemployment is simpler than they make out. 

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  • john

    Just think how much we would each be better off without these 6 million parasites. I’d sack all social workers for starters. And the commission for racial equality, or whatever it’s called these days.

  • LandlordX

    Yay! Let’s all work for the Government!!! I already work for 3 months of the year just tp pay my tax – so why not just extend it to 12 months? No need to produce anything, no accountability, safe job, no pressure, if you go wrong you just blame a lack of resources, endless captive so-called “customers”, gold-plated pensions, luvly jubbly…Communism here we come!

  • Steve Robson

    Are john’s comments ironic or is he thick? Does he really believe that all teachers, nurses, policemen and soldiers (and the administrative backup to them) are parasites on the people who do the “real” jobs in the private sector, like double glazing salesmen, bankers and eyelash extension technicians.
    What about those employed in the private sector to deliver public services, like many care workers, refuse collectors and school caterers. Are they parasites too?
    I despair that you let these people support you. How will we ever move forward?

  • Call me Dave

    Irony is my best guess Steve.
    Now one in five employed by the state. In Scotland it’s one in four as it is in Northern Ireland. At what point do things become unsustainable? 33% perhaps?
    Labour have been expanding the public sector payroll since taking power in a vain attempt to secure more votes. Boy have they got that one wrong!!

  • Dave Thompson

    Here goes Steve again! We really need a sweepstake on where he works. Is it a county/district/city/unitary council? A quango? One of the many civil service departments thinking up new and imaginitive ways to spend taxpayers money without making a blind bit of difference?
    Face it Steve. If our taxypayer cash went soley on teachers and nurses no-one would mind. But it doesn’t. It goes on increases in pay for council executives who loose millions in Iceland regardless of all the warnings. It goes on £190million for rebulding one library in the middle of the biggest recession for 20 years. It goes on £200m state aid for mortages which 6 families have used. And many, many more…
    And as for your view that moving forward requires this enormous public sector? I’m not even dignifying that with a response…