New public sector employment statistics for Scotland, released by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, show that there were 545,100 people employed in the public sector in Scotland in September 2018.

Public sector employment accounted for 20.7% of total employment in the country and private sector employment accounted for 79.3%.

“There were 489,700 people employed in the devolved public sector in September 2018, a net decrease of 13,520 (-2.7%) since September 2017,” said the Scottish Government.

“There were increases in headcount in devolved civil service by 650 (+3.8%), other public bodies by 410 (+2.6%), further education colleges by 300 (+2.2%) and NHS staff by 250 (+0.2%).

“There were decreases in headcount in Public Corporations by 14,730 (-63.5%) which was mainly due to Registered Social Landlords being reclassified into the private sector.

“There were also decreases in headcount in local government by 300 (-0.1%) and Police and Fire by 100 (-0.4%).

“The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.”