The public sector workforce: past, present and future

Abstract

As in all advanced economies, the public sector is a sizeable employer in the UK. At its most recent high-point in 2010, the public sector employed about 6.1 million workers, or 20 per cent of all UK workers. The public sector pay bill also makes up a large element of public spending, accounting for well over half of current or day-to-day spending at the latest count. With the government in the process of making significant cuts in departmental spending as part of a fiscal consolidation aimed at helping to bring the public finances back on to a sustainable path, cuts to the total pay bill and workforce are essentially unavoidable. Indeed, the [Office for Budget Responsibility] OBR forecast is that the level of general government employment will fall by 1.1 million as a result of expected cuts to public spending between 2010-11 and 2018-19. With schools and [National Health Service] NHS spending relatively protected from spending cuts, these workforce cuts are likely to be focused on other areas of spending, changing the shape of both public spending and the public workforce.