Public sector employees in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Public sector employees was 8,168 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Public sector employees in United Kingdom, 2005–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
In 2025, public sector employees in United Kingdom stood at 8,168. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
The figure is up 4.2% on the previous year and up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector employees in United Kingdom peaked at 8,168 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6,826, in 2016.
United Kingdom ranks 2nd of 64 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Public sector employees in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6,984 | — |
| 2006 | 7,046 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 6,970 | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 7,089 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 7,266 | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 7,289 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 7,119 | -2.3% |
| 2012 | 6,916 | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 6,871 | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 6,922 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 6,907 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 6,826 | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 6,840 | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 6,978 | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 6,830 | -2.1% |
| 2020 | 7,433 | +8.8% |
| 2021 | 7,647 | +2.9% |
| 2022 | 7,706 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 7,778 | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 7,835 | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 8,168 | +4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7,071 | 6,970 | 7,266 | 5 |
| 2010s | 6,950 | 6,826 | 7,289 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7,761 | 7,433 | 8,168 | 6 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More work & labour data for United Kingdom
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 22,956 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 60.91 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 35,770 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 57.91 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.47 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.4352 % change on previous year (2027)
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Criminal penalties or civil remedies sexual harassment in employment 1 (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 61.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector employees in United Kingdom?
- Public sector employees in United Kingdom was 8,168 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest public sector employees recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 8,168 in 2025.
- What is the lowest public sector employees recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 6,826 in 2016.
- How does United Kingdom rank for public sector employees?
- United Kingdom ranks 2nd out of 64 countries with data for 2025.
- Is public sector employees rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public sector employees. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. Employees are all those workers who hold paid employment jobs, which are those where the incumbents hold employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work. Type of job contract refers to permanent versus temporary (i.e. short-term or casual) contracts. For more information, refer to the Worker and Sector Profiles (PROF) database description.