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Those employed in the Civil Service are not immune to the effects of recession, as Mark Conrad reports. Civil Service employment fell significantly at the end of 2008, as the sector joined local government in feeling the pinch from the recession. Figures published last month by the Office for National Statistics show that the number of civil servants fell by 8,000, to 521,000, in the final quarter of 2008. Local government employment also fell – by 12,000, to 2.9m – yet employment across the public sector as a whole bucked the economic trend, and increased by 15,000. Most Civil Service job cuts were planned months ago, and form part of the sector's reorganisation. However, some departments have shed more jobs because they have opted not to fill posts that were not expected to become vacant. A senior departmental source told The MJ: ‘The vast majority of our job cuts reflected in the ONS figures were planned before the recession, and form part of the drive to transfer resources to frontline public services. ‘But, I am aware of a few posts that we're not rushing to fill because of the economic conditions. They are not senior roles, and are the sort of positions which may have been later identified for reorganisation, as departments seek to achieve savings targets, transfer resources to priority areas, and limit costs.' Many of the job cuts were made by axing temporary or part-time roles. The Ministry of Defence, Home Office and attorney general's departments cut the most permanent staff. The source added that, as with the private sector, ‘the Civil Service is not immune from the impact of the global downturn'. The biggest increase in public sector employment has been in the NHS, where the job total rose 59,000 to 1.56m. Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis, who represents national health and town hall staff, warned public bodies not to engage in a ‘race to the bottom to see who sheds the most jobs' during the downturn. ‘As the recession deepens, more people are turning to council staff for help, so it would be madness to add them to the ranks of the jobless,' he said.

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WHITEHALL

Civil Service loses 8,000 staff

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