How many (a) UK nationals, (b) people born in the UK, (c) other EU nationals and (d) non-EU nationals were in employment in the (i) public …

The preferred data source information on employment in the public sector is the Quarterly Public Sector Employment (QPSE) publication. However, this does not include the level of detail required to answer this question. Data from the Labour Force Survey cannot be used either as some of the estimates required are below the reliability threshold. The Annual Population Survey (APS) can be used to estimate the number and proportion of people in employment within the public and private sectors by nationality and country of birth. As the APS is not seasonally adjusted, comparisons can only be made on an annual basis. Data for the latest three years (from the January to December datasets) is shown in the following table.
Table 1: Nationality and Country of Birth for People Aged 16 and Above in Employment in Scotland, 2008 to 2010

2008
2009
2010
Sector
Measure
level (000)

proportion of sector1
level (000)

proportion of sector1
level (000)

proportion of sector1
Nationality of all aged 16+ in employment






Public
UK Nationals
682.9
97.4%
701.8
96.9%
678.7
96.6%
Other EU Nationals
7.6
1.1%
10
1.4%
13.1
1.9%
Non-EU Nationals
10.7
1.5%
12.3
1.7%
10.8
1.5%
Private
UK Nationals
1,715.2
94.7%
1,647.2
94.0%
1,629.8
93.4%
Other EU Nationals
57.1
3.2%
60.1
3.4%
66.2
3.8%
Non-EU Nationals
39.1
2.2%
45.7
2.6%
48.5
2.8%
Country of birth of all aged 16+ in employment






Public
UK born
669.2
95.4%
690.1
95.3%
664.6
94.6%
Private
UK born
1,675
92.5%
1,608.4
91.7%
1,596.5
91.5%
Source: Annual Population Survey, January – December, Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
1. Proportions of all working in relevant sector.
2. Proportions may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
3. Proportions are of all aged 16 and over, excluding non-respondents.
4. Levels rounded to nearest hundred.
5. The APS over-estimates the level of public sector employment due to respondent self-classification. Estimates from the APS for January to December 2010 indicate that over the year the number of people aged 16 and over employed in the public sector in Scotland was 702,700. Estimates from the Quarterly Public Sector Employment (QPSE) publication indicates that over the calendar year 2010 the average number of people employed in the public sector in Scotland was 618,800. This divergence is due to private sector employee’s being classified in the public sector when they actually work for private sector organisations providing a service to the public sector.