Public sector employment in Scotland: statistics for first quarter 2021

3. Devolved Public Sector Employment in Scotland; Headcount

(see Table 3)

Employment in the devolved public sector was 15,840 (3.1%) higher at 524,600 in March 2021 compared with 508,700 in March 2020.

The devolved public sector includes:

Devolved Civil Service (see section 5),

Local Government, covering Scottish Local Authorities, Police and Fire Services (up to Q1 2013), Valuation Joint Boards and Regional Transport Partnerships,

Police and Fire Services (Q2 2013 onwards),

NHS in Scotland,

Further Education Colleges,

Devolved Public Corporations,

Other Devolved Public Bodies (which covers Non-Departmental Bodies and other bodies).

Chart 4 shows the size of each group in the devolved public sector as at March 2021.

Source: Public Sector Employment in Scotland, Quarter 1 2021

Note: Totals may not equal the sum of the individual parts due to rounding

The increase over the year in the overall devolved public sector headcount was due to:

• Employment levels in the NHS increasing by 10,690 (6.4%) to 177,700 in March 2021^[7];
• Employment in Public Corporations increasing by 4,750 (56.1%) to 13,000 in March 2021^[8];
• Employment in the Devolved Civil Service increasing by 1,100 (5.2%) to 22,200 in March 2021;
• Employment in Scottish Local Government increasing by 690 (0.3%) to 254,000 in March 2021;

while:

• Employment in the Police and Fire Services decreased by -160 (-0.6%) to 28,200 in March 2021;
• Employment in Further Education Colleges fell by -1,070 (-7.4%) to 13,400 in March 2021;
• Employment in Other Public Bodies fell by -150 (-0.9%) to 15,700 in March 2021.