THE Chief Minister has reiterated his pledge to “curb growth” in the public sector after new data revealed that the number of government jobs was still rising faster than the number of private sector positions.
Deputy Lyndon Farnham made the comments in the States Assembly when asked by Deputy Steve Ahier how he could justify figures in the Labour Market Report, published this week.
The report showed that in the 12 months to December 2023, there was an increase of 380 jobs in the public sector – compared to an increase of 330 jobs in the private sector.
A total of 9,450 jobs in the civil service mean that 15% of Islanders who work are employed by the government.
Yesterday, Deputy Farnham said: “I can’t really justify that figure [of 380], but to the best of my knowledge the report refers to December 2023, before this government took office.
“One of the key priorities in our Common Strategic Policy is to curb the growth in the public sector.”
It is not new for the Labour Market Report to show that the rate of growth in the public sector is outstripping growth in the public sector.
Last year, a business expert labelled a public sector increase of 20% over five years “deeply worrying”.
And the new Chief Minister – after taking over from previous incumbent Deputy Kristina Moore – has made no secret of the fact that he intends to streamline his civil service.
The Common Strategic Policy, published last month, states: “We will curb the growth in the public sector and rely less on external consultants, instead developing local talent within the civil service and redirecting monies saved to those areas where it is needed most.”
Funding for the government’s Cabinet Office, which has grown in headcount over the past few years, is also set to be reviewed after a backbencher’s proposition was unanimously approved by Members.
Public sector
In the 12 months to December 2023, there was an increase of 380 jobs in the public sector.
The departments with the largest annual increase in core staff were Children, Young People, Education and Skills (up 230), Justice and Home Affairs (up 70) and Health and Community Services (up 70).
In addition, 910 of those working in the public sector worked part-time and 600 were on zero-hours contracts.
The report
In December 2023, the total number of jobs in the Island was 64,200, comprising 54,760 jobs in the private sector and 9,450 jobs in the public sector.
There was an annual increase of 700 jobs (1.1%) since December 2022.
There were 6,480 jobs filled on zero-hours contracts, representing 10% of total employment.
Around 15% of Islanders work in the public sector; 22% in financial and legal activities, and 14% in private education, health and other services.
The number of jobs and private sector jobs were both at their highest ever totals, and the number of public sector jobs was the highest recorded to date.
Is the public sector growing?
The first “government employment, revenue and expenditure” report, published in March by Statistics Jersey, showed that the proportion of Jersey’s workforce employed in the public sector has remained largely unchanged since the 1970s and was smaller than other similar-sized jurisdictions.
It showed that the 15.4% of Jersey workers who were in the public sector represented a smaller proportion than the UK (16.9%), France (21.1%), Guernsey (16.7%) and the Isle of Man (19.6%) – as well as the international OECD average of 18.6%.
