Cynnwys
- Main points
- Things you need to know about this release
- Public sector employment falls slightly
- Central government employment continues to rise while local government employment continues to fall
- Employment in the National Health Service and education rises
- Private sector employment is little changed on the quarter but higher than a year earlier
- Civil Service employment is little changed on the quarter but up slightly on the year
- Links to related statistics
- Quality and methodology
1. Main points
For June 2018, there were 5.34 million people employed in the public sector, 4,000 fewer than for March 2018; this small fall was entirely due to the transfer of Welsh housing associations to the private sector.
Excluding the Welsh housing associations transfer, the number of people employed in the public sector increased by 16,000 between March and June 2018.
Between June 2017 and June 2018, public sector employment fell by 122,000; this large fall was entirely due to the transfer of housing associations in England (in December 2017) and in Wales (in June 2018) to the private sector.
Excluding the housing associations transfer, the number of people employed in the public sector increased by 34,000 between June 2017 and June 2018, mainly due to more people working for the National Health Service.
For June 2018, there were 27.06 million people working in the private sector, 383,000 more than for a year earlier; excluding the housing associations transfer the annual increase in private sector employment was 227,000.
For June 2018, of all people in paid work, 16.5% were employed in the public sector and the remaining 83.5% were employed in the private sector.
2. Things you need to know about this release
The estimates of public and private sector employment published in this month’s release have been impacted by the reclassification of Welsh housing associations, which are included in the private sector for June 2018 but are included in the public sector for earlier time periods. This reclassification has resulted in around 12,000 employees who were included in the public sector for March 2018 being included in the private sector estimates for June 2018.
This bulletin presents the latest quarterly estimates of UK public sector employment (PSE). The public sector comprises central government, local government and public corporations as defined for the UK National Accounts.
These statistics are used mainly to monitor changes in the number of people employed in the UK public and private sectors and to inform policy-making across government.
Estimates of PSE are presented by sector classification, industry and region. Civil Service employment is shown by government department and agency. Employment in executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) is aggregated by sponsoring department.
While this bulletin focuses on headcount estimates of PSE, full-time equivalent estimates (based on the number of hours worked divided by the standard full-time hours) are available in the accompanying PSE datasets.
The PSE estimates are point-in-time employment estimates and relate to a specific day in the published month.
The main source of PSE is the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, which aims to obtain complete coverage of local authorities and the Civil Service, and coverage of all public bodies with 20 or more employees. It is difficult to achieve complete coverage for local and central government, for example, in the education sector. Further information can be found in the Quality and Methodology Information report.
All time series in this release, except for the regional series, are seasonally adjusted to aid interpretation. Relationships that hold in the unadjusted series do not necessarily hold for the seasonally adjusted series. For example, total PSE equals the total of all public sector industry estimates before seasonal adjustment, but this is not necessarily true after seasonal adjustment.
Comparisons of public and private sector employment over time are complicated by a number of major reclassifications, where bodies employing large numbers of people have moved between the public and private sectors. We produce estimates of public and private sector employment excluding the effects of major reclassifications to help you understand underlying trends in employment. We publish these alongside estimates of total public and private sector employment in Tables 5, 6a and 7a of the PSE datasets.
Consistent with the revisions policy for public sector employment statistics, the statistics are subject to revisions. Revisions can be made for a variety of reasons, the most common include:
to account for late information from respondents
to account for recent classifications to the public sector
to update seasonal factors (updated quarterly and reviewed annually)
3. Public sector employment falls slightly
There were 5.34 million employees in the public sector for June 2018, down 4,000 (0.1%) compared with March 2018 and down 122,000 (2.2%) compared with June 2017. These quarterly and annual movements in public sector employment have been affected by the transfer of housing associations in England (in December 2017) and in Wales (in June 2018) to the private sector.
Excluding the effects of the transfer of English and Welsh housing associations, public sector employment increased by 16,000 between March and June 2018 and by 34,000 between June 2017 and June 2018.
Of all people in paid work, 16.5% were employed in the public sector for June 2018, the same as for March 2018.
Figure 1 shows trends in total public sector employment and public sector employment excluding major reclassifications since comparable records began in 1999.
Figure 1: Total UK public sector employment, seasonally adjusted
March 1999 to June 2018
Source: Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this image Figure 1: Total UK public sector employment, seasonally adjusted
.png (23.7 kB) .xlsx (21.2 kB)4. Central government employment continues to rise while local government employment continues to fall
The latest figures show a continuing trend of more people employed in central government and fewer people employed in local government, mainly due to some local authority schools in England converting to academy status.
The number of people employed in central government continues to increase to reach a new record high of 3.11 million for June 2018. It is up 15,000 (0.5%) compared with March 2018 and up 98,000 (3.3%) compared with June 2017, as shown in Figure 2.
The number of people employed in local government continues to fall to reach a new record low of 2.05 million for June 2018. It is down 5,000 (0.2%) compared with March 2018 and down 65,000 (3.1%) compared with June 2017, as shown in Figure 2.
The number of people employed in public corporations fell 14,000 (7.1%) between March 2018 and June 2018. This was almost entirely due to the transfer of Welsh housing associations to the private sector. Between June 2017 and June 2018, employment in public corporations fell by 155,000 (45.7%), mainly due to the transfer of both English and Welsh housing associations to the private sector.
Figure 2: UK public sector employment in local and central government, seasonally adjusted
March 1999 to June 2018
Source: Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics
Notes:
July 2010: Academies Act 2010 passed.
June 2012: English colleges moved to the private sector.
Download this chart Figure 2: UK public sector employment in local and central government, seasonally adjusted
Image .csv .xlsThe academies impact
The composition of the public sector is changing due to academy conversions in England. Employees move from local government to central government when local authority schools become academies. In June 2018, academy conversions accounted for 14,000 employees over the quarter and 60,000 over the year, as shown in Table 1. A full time series of employment in academies is available in Table 11 of the public sector employment dataset.
Table 1: Employment in academies, September 2015 to June 2018, England
Thousands, not seasonally adjusted | |||
Headcount | Full-time equivalent | ||
---|---|---|---|
2015 | September | 431 | 333 |
December | 437 | 337 | |
2016 | March | 442 | 341 |
June | 450 | 345 | |
September | 468 | 360 | |
December | 478 | 367 | |
2017 | March | 487 | 373 |
June | 503 | 384 | |
September | 526 | 401 | |
December | 537 | 408 | |
2018 | March | 549 | 416 |
June | 563 | 426 | |
Change on quarter | 14 | 10 | |
Change on year | 60 | 42 | |
Source: Office for National Statistics |
Download this table Table 1: Employment in academies, September 2015 to June 2018, England
.xls (37.9 kB)5. Employment in the National Health Service and education rises
For June 2018, there were 1.65 million people employed in the National Health Service. This was:
6,000 more than for March 2018
26,000 more than for a year earlier
the highest figure on record
For June 2018, the National Health Service accounted for 30.9% of all people employed in the public sector and 5.1% of all people in paid work in the UK.
For June 2018, there were 1.51 million people employed in public sector education. This was up 5,000 compared both with March 2018 and with a year earlier.
For June 2018, public sector education accounted for 28.3% of all people employed in the public sector and 4.7% of all people in paid work in the UK.
For June 2018, there were 1.03 million people employed in public administration. This was:
5,000 more than for March 2018
18,000 more than for a year earlier
the highest figure since March 2015
Figure 3 shows public sector employment by selected industries since the series began in 1999.
Figure 3: UK public sector employment, by selected industries, seasonally adjusted
March 1999 to June 2018
Source: Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics
Notes:
September 2008: Housing associations in England reclassified to public sector.
June 2012: English colleges moved to private sector.
December 2017: Housing associations in England reclassified to private sector.
June 2018: Housing associations in Wales reclassified to the private sector.
Download this chart Figure 3: UK public sector employment, by selected industries, seasonally adjusted
Image .csv .xls6. Private sector employment is little changed on the quarter but higher than a year earlier
Private sector employment estimates are derived as the difference between total employment estimates, sourced from the Labour Force Survey, and public sector employment estimates collected from public sector organisations.
For June 2018, there were 27.06 million people employed in the private sector. This was:
little changed (up 7,000) compared with March 2018
383,000 (1.4%) more than for a year earlier
The transfer of English and Welsh housing associations to the private sector has contributed to these movements in private sector employment. Excluding the effects of the housing association transfers, private sector employment fell slightly (by 13,000) between March and June 2018 but increased by 227,000 (0.8%) between June 2017 and June 2018.
Figure 4: UK private sector employment, seasonally adjusted
March 1999 to June 2018
Source: Labour Force Survey and Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 4: UK private sector employment, seasonally adjusted
Image .csv .xls7. Civil Service employment is little changed on the quarter but up slightly on the year
For June 2018, there were 431,000 people employed in the Home Civil Service (8.1% of total public sector employment). This was:
little changed (up 1,000) compared with March 2018
8,000 (1.9%) more than for June 2017
As shown in Figure 5, the Home Civil Service has seen a slow but steady increase in employment since the record low of 416,000 recorded for June, September and December 2016.
Figure 5: Employment in the Home Civil Service, UK
March 1999 to June 2018
Source: Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 5: Employment in the Home Civil Service, UK
Image .csv .xls
Table 2: Machinery of government changes, 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, UK
Organisation name | Details |
---|---|
Home Office | Around 160 staff transferred from the Home Office to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in May 2018. |
Government Property Agency | The Government Property Agency, an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, was launched on 1 April 2018. |
National College for Teaching and Leadership | On 1 April 2018, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE), closed and was replaced by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). The TRA handles the regulation of the teaching profession whilst all other former NCTL functions have transferred to the DfE. This transfer of functions resulted in around 350 staff moving from NCTL to DfE. |
Welsh Revenue Authority | The Welsh Revenue Authority, a non-ministerial department of the Welsh Government, was launched on 1 April 2018. |
National Infrastructure Commission | The National Infrastructure Commission, an executive agency of HM Treasury, is reported for the first time in the March 2018 release. |
Defence Equipment and Support | Around 1,250 staff moved from Defence Equipment and Support to the Ministry of Defence (excluding trading funds) between December 2017 and March 2018. |
HM Revenue and Customs | Around 120 staff transferred from HM Revenue and Customs to the Department for Work and Pensions between December 2017 and March 2018. |
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | The Department for Communities and Local Government became the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 8 January 2018. |
Department of Health and Social Care | The Department of Health became the Department of Health and Social Care on 8 January 2018. |
HM Revenue and Customs | Around 600 employees transferred from HM Revenue and Customs to the Cabinet Office between September and December 2017. |
Rural Payments Agency | Around 60 employees transferred from the Rural Payments Agency to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs between June and September 2017. |
HM Revenue and Customs | Around 1,400 employees transferred from HM Revenue and Customs to the Cabinet Office between June and September 2017. |
Crown Commercial Service | Around 20 employees transferred from Crown Commercial Service to the Cabinet Office between June and September 2017. |
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | The Department for Culture, Media and Sport became the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 3 July 2017. |
Source: Office for National Statistics |
Download this table Table 2: Machinery of government changes, 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, UK
.xls (46.1 kB)9. Quality and methodology
The Public sector employment (PSE) Quality and Methodology Information report contains important information on:
the strengths and limitations of the data and how it compares with related data
uses and the users of the data and how the output was created
the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data
Response rates
The primary source of the PSE statistics is the Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (QPSES), which comprises three separate data collections: local authorities in England and Wales, public corporations and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) in Great Britain and the Home Civil Service. Our targets for response before the results are compiled are 90% for Local Authorities and Public Bodies QPSES and 100% for Civil Service QPSES. Response rates for the latest period are shown in Table 3.
Table 3: Response rates for sources of UK public sector employment, June 2018
Response (% of questionnaires returned) | Response (% of employment returned) | |
---|---|---|
Local Authorities Survey | 95 | 91 |
Public Bodies Survey | 96 | 98 |
Civil Service Survey | 100 | 100 |
Other sources (see Table 4) | 100 | 100 |
Source: Office for National Statistics |
Download this table Table 3: Response rates for sources of UK public sector employment, June 2018
.xls (41.0 kB)So that estimates of total public sector employment can be made, it is necessary for further information to be gathered from external sources, listed in Table 4.
Table 4: External sources of data for UK public sector employment statistics, June 2018
Geographic coverage | Source | |
---|---|---|
Central government | ||
HM Forces | UK | Ministry of Defence: Defence Statistics |
National Health Service | England | NHS Digital |
Wales | NHS Wales Informatics Service | |
Scotland | Scottish Government | |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Academies | England | School Workforce Census and list of all open academies (Department for Education) |
Police (including civilians) | Scotland | Scottish Government |
Police (British Transport Police) | England and Wales | Home Office |
Other central government | Great Britain | Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (ONS) |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Local government | ||
Local authorities | England and Wales | Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (ONS) |
Scotland | Joint Staffing Watch (Scottish Government) | |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Police (including civilians) | England and Wales | Home Office |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Public corporations | ||
Great Britain | Quarterly Public Sector Employment Survey (ONS) | |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Housing associations | Scotland | Scottish Housing Regulator; Scottish Government |
Northern Ireland | Department of Finance and Personnel | |
Source: Office for National Statistics |