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

4,070 000's

2026 Q1

Release date:
18 June 2026
Next release:
15 September 2026
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Public sector employment, UK: March 2026

What's in the bulletin?

  • Employment in the public sector was estimated at 6.19 million in March 2026, an increase of 2,000 (0.0%) compared with December 2025, and an increase of 37,000 (0.6%) compared with March 2025.
  • Of those in employment, it is estimated that 18.0% were employed in the public sector in March 2026; this is unchanged on the quarter from December 2025 and down 0.1 percentage points compared with March 2025.
  • Employment in central government was at a record high, at an estimated 4.07 million in March 2026, an increase of 6,000 (0.1%) compared with December 2025 and an increase of 46,000 (1.1%) compared with March 2025; the main contributors to the increase since the previous year were some local authority schools becoming academies, the NHS and the Civil Service.
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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.

  • 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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