Spotlight
Public Sector Employment by Sector; Central Gov; UK; HC; SA; Thousands
3,522 000's
2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022

Public sector employment, UK: December 2021
What's in the bulletin?
- Total public sector employment increased in December 2021 compared with the previous quarter and the previous year; the increase from a year ago is largely because of the ongoing response of the NHS and the Civil Service to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
- There were an estimated 5.72 million employees in the public sector for December 2021, which was 24,000 (0.4%) more than for September 2021 and 127,000 (2.3%) more than for December 2020.
- Employment in central government was an estimated 3.52 million for December 2021, a rise of 24,000 (0.7%) compared with September 2021 and 133,000 (3.9%) compared with December 2020; the main contributors to this increase were the NHS, the Civil Service and local authority schools becoming academies.

Is pay higher in the public or private sector?
How has public and private sector pay changed over the last 10 years?
Time series related to Public sector personnel
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3,522 000's 2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022
-
2,003 000's 2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022
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4,824 000's 2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022
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35 2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022
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158 2021 Q4
- Release date:
- 15 March 2022
- Next release:
- 14 June 2022
Datasets related to Public sector personnel
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Public sector employment
Quarterly estimates of UK and regional public sector employment, made up of central government (including Civil Service), local government and public corporations. The estimates also include a breakdown by industry.
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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.
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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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Public sector employment time series
Seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted quarterly time series of UK public sector employment, containing the latest estimates.
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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.
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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.
Publications related to Public sector personnel
Statistical bulletins
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Public sector employment, UK: December 2021
Estimates of people employed in the public and private sectors in the UK.
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Civil Service statistics, UK: 2018
Employment statistics for the Civil Service population, providing regional analyses, diversity and earnings data.
Articles
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Who works in the public sector?
Using the Annual Population Survey to explore the demographics of the people who work in the public sector.
Methodology related to Public sector personnel
Looking for local statistics?
A handy guide to let you know where to find local statistics.