PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT IN SCOTLAND STATISTICS FOR 1st QUARTER 2014

The statistics in this release are based on administrative records and surveys of individual public sector bodies carried out by the Scottish Government and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The publication includes information on public sector employment in Scotland with distinctions made for employment in devolved bodies and reserved bodies (located in Scotland).


Footnotes

1. Information on public sector employment by age is considered Official Statistics whereas the overall public sector series is a National Statistics product. The difference reflects the fact that the age collection is a fairly new series, with the information being collected for the devolved public sector for the first time in 2013. Data was collected for devolved organisations excluding further education colleges where an estimate was made based on existing information.

2. More information on the classification of organisations and institutions in the National Accounts are available in the Sector Classification Guide (MA23): http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-224305

3. Employment in Local Government in Scotland over the last year has been largely affected by the reclassification of police and fire services to central government and transfers of staff to the NHS.

4. In October 2012 the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) merged with 3 colleges to form Scotland's Rural College. This new organisation is classified as a public body (as the SAC was). This has resulted in staffing levels moving from the Further Education to Other Public Bodies categories to reflect the merger of these organisations.

5. Employment in reserved public corporations & public sector financial institutions over the last year has been affected by the reclassification of Royal Mail plc. Direct Line Group plc. and Lloyds Banking Group plc. (and subsidiaries) into the private sector.

6. There has been an amendment made to the date which the merger took place. Merger took place in October 2012, rather than April 2013 as indicated in previous publications.

7. The reclassification of Lloyds Banking Group plc. has meant it is no longer possible to produce a separate public sector financial institutions employment series due to disclosure rules. Public corporations have been combined with public sector financial institutions to create a new grouping.

8. When interpreting changes over time in the devolved civil service in Scotland it should be noted that due to organisational changes, staff have transferred between the Scottish Government core directorates and agencies. Detail about the above changes can be found in the background notes.

9. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/SourcesDef

Contact

Email: Susanne Ross

Back to top