WIREDGOV

Main points

• Between 2009 (when the survey began) and 2014, the number of employees in the UK is estimated to have increased by 1.321 million (4.8%) to 28.7 million. The period between 2013 and 2014, accounts for two-thirds of this growth in the number of employees (0.873 million), with the East of England, the South West, Scotland and London showing particularly strong growth.
• After an initial fall, the levels of employees in the northern regions, the South West and Scotland have only just surpassed the number of employees seen in 2009.
• Between 2009 and 2014, the largest increase in employees has been in the professional, scientific and technical industries, closely followed by business administration and support services. In particular, business administration has seen a big increase in temporary employment agency activities over this period.
• The professional, scientific and technical industry, which has shown particularly strong growth since 2009, can be seen to have a strong presence in London and the South East, with 8 of the 20 local authorities with the highest share of employees in this industry being in the South East and 6 in London. Conversely, 9 of the 20 local authorities with the lowest share of employees in this industry were in Wales.
• Public administration and property were the only industry groups to show a fall in the number of employees between 2013 and 2014.
• Between 2013 and 2014, 80% of local authority districts saw a decrease in the number of public sector employees, with 84% showing a decrease between 2009 and 2014. In contrast, 94% of local authority districts saw an increase in the number of private sector employees, with 88% growing between 2009 and 2014.

Get all the tables for this publication in the data section of this publication.