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Publication - Research and analysis

Scottish economic bulletin: December 2025

Published
12 December 2025
From
Chief Economist
Directorate
Chief Economist Directorate
Topic
Economy
ISBN
9781806435326

Provides a summary of latest key economic statistics, forecasts and analysis on the Scottish economy.

Part of

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Box: Public Sector Pay

OCEA published an analytical note on the public sector in Scotland in May 2024.[26] This box updates part of that analysis with the latest data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings for 2025. This looks at median earnings after income tax and national insurance contributions for all parts of the public sector, including devolved services such as the NHS and civil servants in the Scottish Government, workers in the reserved public sector, such as in defence and civil servants in other UK Government departments, and local government services such as education.

As highlighted in the previous analysis, public sector workers in Scotland tend to earn more than workers in the private sector or the public sector in the UK as a whole. Analysis by the IFS for earlier years has shown that part of the reason for higher public sector earnings compared to the private sector is explained by experience and qualifications, although after accounting for this there remains a wage premium in Scotland.[27]

In 2025, net median pay for a full-time public sector employee continued to be higher than private sector pay in Scotland, by £3,770 a year. It was also £1,483 higher than equivalent net median UK public sector pay. The difference between public and private sector pay widened slightly in Scotland whilst it narrowed slightly for the UK.

Net Median Earnings for Full-time Workers by Sector – Scotland and UK
Line chart showing that in 2025, net median pay for a full-time public sector employee continued to be higher than private sector pay in Scotland, by £3,770 a year and was £1,483 higher than equivalent net median UK public sector pay. The difference between public and private sector pay widened slightly in Scotland whilst it narrowed slightly for the UK.

Median public sector pay is higher than the private sector in Scotland, however this is not true across all parts of the income distribution.

In general, higher earners tend to earn similar amounts or more in the private sector, whilst employees in the lower half of the income distribution on average earn around 18% more in the public sector than the private sector. A similar pattern is seen in the differences between public sector pay in Scotland and the rest of the UK, where the main difference between Scotland and the UK in public sector pay is seen in the bottom half of the distribution, with pay more similar in the upper half.

Average Full Time Earnings by Decile in Scotland 2025
Line chart showing that in 2025, employees in the lower half of the income distribution earn around 18% more in the public sector than the private sector, while higher earners earn similar or more in the private sector.

Contact

Email: economic.statistics@gov.scot

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