Public Sector Employment - Uk March 2023

13th June 2023

Total public sector employment increased in March 2023 compared with the previous quarter and the previous year; central government is the main contributor to the rise with little change to local government and public corporations.

There were an estimated 5.83 million employees in the public sector in March 2023, which is 31,000 (0.5%) more than in December 2022 and 100,000 (1.7%) more than in March 2022.

Employment in central government was an estimated 3.64 million in March 2023, a rise of 27,000 (0.7%) compared with December 2022 and 92,000 (2.6%) compared with March 2022; the main contributors to this increase were the NHS, the Civil Service, and local authority schools becoming academies.

The NHS employed an estimated 1.94 million people in March 2023, an increase of 19,000 (1.0%) compared with December 2022 and an increase of 63,000 (3.4%) compared with March 2022.

Employment in local government was an estimated 2.00 million for March 2023, an increase of 3,000 (0.2%) since December 2022 and 2,000 (0.1%) since March 2022; an increase in employment in the police has contributed to this increase.

There were 521,000 employees in the Civil Service in March 2023, up 6,000 (1.2%) compared with December 2022, and up 9,000 (1.8%) compared with March 2022.

There were an estimated 27.26 million employees in the private sector in March 2023, which is 219,000 (0.8%) more than in December 2022 and 282,000 (1.0%) more than in March 2022.

Read the full report HERE