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Public and Private Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount
Public sector employment in Scotland decreased by 3,560 (-0.6%) between June 2023 and June 2024. This decrease in public sector employment is mainly due to a decrease in the reserved public sector following the reclassification of an organisation from the public to the private sector.
The public sector is defined according to the UK National Accounts Classifications Guide
Figure 1: Public sector employment in Scotland accounts for over one fifth (22.1%) of total employment
Public and Private[1] Sector employment (Headcount) in Scotland as at June 2024
Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2 2024
Figure 2: Public Sector employment in Scotland has been gradually increasing since 2018
Public Sector employment and estimated public sector employment (excluding major reclassifications) in Scotland, June 1999 to June 2024, non-seasonally adjusted
Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2 2024
Figure 2 shows that the number of people employed in the public sector remained relatively constant between Q1 2014 and Q2 2018, before falling in Q3 2018 and rising again from Q4 2018 onwards. Excluding the effects of major reclassifications[2] (i.e. taking out the headcounts for all large organisations listed in footnote 2 from the overall numbers), the number of people employed in the public sector gradually reached a peak in Q2 2006, decreased until Q3 2013 and remained relatively constant until Q3 2018. The increase between Q3 2018 and Q4 2018 is mainly due to Cordia services moving back under Glasgow City Council services. Since Q4 2018, the series has typically been increasing over time. In Q3 2018, Social Security Scotland was added to the public sector series and has grown in size over time partly contributing to the increase.
Figure 3 shows the annual change in employment for the public sector. Employment decreased by 3,560 (-0.6%) between June 2023 and June 2024. The decrease is mostly due to a reclassification in the Reserved Public Sector.
Figure 3: Public Sector employment in Scotland decreased over the year due to National Accounts classification changes. Previous annual changes show increases in the public sector employment headcount.
Annual change in Public Sector employment (Headcount) in Scotland
Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 2, 2024
Impact of Excluding Major Reclassifications from Public Sector
If the major reclassifications[2] were to be excluded from the public sector series (i.e. the headcounts for all large organisations listed in footnote 2 were taken out of the overall numbers), there would be around 585,000 people employed in the public sector as at June 2024.
Public sector employment, excluding the effects of the major reclassifications, would be around 6,000 (1.0%) higher in June 2024 compared with June 2023. This series provides a better picture of the annual change in the overall public sector in Scotland due to the change in the classification of an organisation deemed a major reclassification.
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