Public sector personnel

People employed in central and local government, and public corporations, including second jobs in the public sector. Includes Civil Service employment with regional and diversity analyses.

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Public Sector Employment by Sector; Central Gov; UK; HC; SA; Thousands

4,064 000's

2025 Q4

Release date:
19 March 2026
Next release:
18 June 2026
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Public sector employment, UK: December 2025

What's in the bulletin?

  • Employment in the public sector was estimated at 6.19 million in December 2025, an increase of 6,000 (0.1%) compared with September 2025, and an increase of 43,000 (0.7%) compared with December 2024.
  • Employment in central government was a record high at an estimated 4.06 million in December 2025, an increase of 13,000 (0.3%) compared with September 2025 and an increase of 61,000 (1.5%) compared with December 2024; the main contributors to the increase since the previous year were some local authority schools becoming academies, the NHS, and the Civil Service.
  • Employment in the NHS was an estimated record high of 2.07 million in December 2025; this was an increase of 1,000 (0.0%) compared with September 2025 and an increase of 17,000 (0.8%) compared with December 2024.
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Datasets related to Public sector personnel

  • Public sector employment

    Quarterly estimates of UK and regional public sector employment, made up of central government, local government, and public corporations.

  • Civil Service statistics

    Annual data on Civil Service employment in the UK, including gender, ethnicity, disability status, earnings and location of the Civil Service workforce. This dataset has now been transferred to the Cabinet Office.

  • Civil Service statistics data summary tool

    An interactive tool allowing users to compare government departments and the Civil Service average, including the split between men and women, full-time and part-time employees, permanent and temporary appointments and regional analysis.

  • Public sector employment time series

    Seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted quarterly time series of UK public sector employment, containing the latest estimates.

  • Civil Service statistics

    Annual data on Civil Service employment in the UK, including gender, ethnicity, disability status, earnings and location of the Civil Service workforce. This dataset has now been transferred to the Cabinet Office.

  • Civil Service statistics data summary tool

    An interactive tool allowing users to compare government departments and the Civil Service average, including the split between men and women, full-time and part-time employees, permanent and temporary appointments and regional analysis.

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Methodology related to Public sector personnel

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