By Richard Johnstone | 18 September 2014
Public sector employment fell by a further 11,000 to 5.39 million in the second quarter of 2014 to hit the lowest level recorded since records began in 1999, the Office for National Statistics has said.
Its update of public sector employment revealed the biggest fall over the three-month period was in local government, where there was a reduction of 10,000 over the three months.
Other falls were recorded in the NHS (a fall of 5,000) and education (3,000 down). Although the number of people working in public administration was unchanged and within the civil service there was a rise in headcount of 2,000.
The ONS added that part of these shifts were the result of local authority maintained schools converting to academy status. Academies are classified to central government, whereas local authority maintained schools are classified to local government.
The number of people employed in the public sector has been falling since December 2009, and the number of public sector employees is now 14.9% lower than the peak level seen in the third quarter of 2009.
