Scottish public sector workforce at new low

The proportion of workers employed in the public sector is at its lowest level since 1999.

New figures from the Scottish Government showed that in the third quarter of this year, 22.7% of Scots who were in employment were working in the public sector.

When the figures began in 1999, 23.8% of Scots in work had jobs in the public sector, with this rising to 25.3% by the third quarter of 1999 – the year the Scottish Parliament was established.

Since then the proportion has been declining, dropping to 23.5% by the third quarter of last year, before falling again to this year’s record low.

A total of 579,700 people are now employed in the public sector, according to the figures.

But when the banks that are part-owned by the state – including the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group – are excluded, that total falls to 547,300.

The private sector now employs 1,968,900 people – a total of 77.3% of all workers – with the number employed in this sector up by 75,800 over the last year.

The figures showed a rise of 2,100 in the number of people working for the NHS in the last year, with 157,400 people employed in the health service in the third quarter of 2013.

Over the same period, the number of people employed in Scotland’s further education colleges fell by 700 to 13,500.

Tory chief whip John Lamont hit out at the Scottish Government, saying this was ” yet another signal that the SNP simply isn’t interested in college education, despite the fact it’s a vital resource for tens of thousands of people every year”.

The Conservative MSP said the Government had cut the college budget, resulting in a reduced choice of courses and a fall in student numbers.

“Now, today’s report shows staffing levels have fallen dramatically too,” he said.

“Courses that provide people from all walks of life with crucial skills have been arrogantly dismissed by the Scottish Government as ‘hobby courses’.

 “That is not good enough, and if some action isn’t taken to reverse this damaging decline, Scotland’s college sector will not be able to recover.

“The SNP is ignoring all the warnings on this, from opposition parties, experts, the sector itself and the many businesses who benefit from college graduates.”