Scottish Public Sector Employment

16th December 2015

Public Sector Employment Statistics for Scotland, released today by Scotlands Chief Statistician, show that over the year to Q3 2015, employment in the public sector in Scotland has decreased by 500 (down 0.1 per cent) to 544,700. The lowest level seen since the series began in 1999. This decrease is driven by reductions in the reserved public sector due to a number of reserved public corporations being taken over by private companies.

In Q3 2015, public sector employment accounted for 20.9 per cent of total employment in the country and private sector employment accounts for 79.1 per cent of total employment in Scotland.

Employment in the private sector in Scotland has increased by 1.0 per cent over the past year with 2,065,500 people employed in the private sector.

In Scotland, the devolved public sector increased by 500 over the year while the reserved public sector decreased by 1,000.

The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.