Public service workforces differ considerably in size, ownership and role. In 2023, general government employment averaged 18.4% of total employment across OECD countries. The UK public sector employed an estimated 6.17 million people in June 2025, while U.S. covered employment in federal, state and local government averaged more than 22.5 million in 2025. These figures use different definitions and measurement periods, so they should be read as separate indicators rather than a single directly comparable series.
Contents
- Public-sector employment across OECD countries
- UK public-sector workforce size and sectors
- UK Civil Service headcount and representation
- Civil Service grades and regional distribution
- Professions and movement in the Civil Service
- U.S. public workforce ownership and federal change
Public-sector employment across OECD countries
The OECD measure of general government employment averaged 18.4% of total employment in 2023. The OECD average was 0.3 percentage points higher in 2023 than in 2019, indicating a modest change across the group over that period. These figures are reported by the OECD in Employment in general government: Government at a Glance 2025 and refer to general government employment rather than every publicly funded role. OECD, Employment in general government: Government at a Glance 2025
The share was highest among the selected country figures in Norway, where general government employment represented 30.1% of total employment in 2023. Sweden recorded 28.2%, Denmark 27.3% and Finland 25.2%.
| Country or group | General government employment share | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| OECD average | 18.4% | 2023 |
| Norway | 30.1% | 2023 |
| Sweden | 28.2% | 2023 |
| Denmark | 27.3% | 2023 |
| Finland | 25.2% | 2023 |
Changes between 2019 and 2023 were uneven. Latvia had the largest OECD increase in the share of general-government employment, at 4.5 percentage points. Estonia’s share increased by 1.4 percentage points, while the United Kingdom’s increased by 1.1 percentage points. In the other direction, Lithuania’s share decreased by 1.1 percentage points, and France and Hungary each decreased by 0.9 percentage points. OECD, Employment in general government: Government at a Glance 2025
UK public-sector workforce size and sectors
The Office for National Statistics estimated UK public-sector employment at 6.17 million people in June 2025. This was an increase of 17,000 people, or 0.3%, from March 2025 and an increase of 75,000 people, or 1.2%, from June 2024. The June 2025 estimate therefore captures both a short three-month movement and a year-on-year movement. ONS, Public sector employment, UK: June 2025
Central government accounted for an estimated 4.04 million employees in June 2025, described by ONS as a record high. Its employment increased by 21,000 people, or 0.5%, from March 2025 and by 95,000 people, or 2.4%, from June 2024.
The NHS had an estimated 2.07 million employees in June 2025, also a record high in the ONS release. NHS employment rose by 9,000 people, or 0.4%, from March 2025 and by 42,000 people, or 2.1%, from June 2024.
Local government showed a different pattern. Employment was estimated at 1.97 million in June 2025, which ONS described as a record low. Local-government employment decreased by 4,000 people, or 0.2%, from March 2025 and by 21,000 people, or 1.1%, from June 2024. ONS, Public sector employment, UK: June 2025
UK Civil Service headcount and representation
The Civil Service Statistics 2025 release recorded 549,660 UK Civil Service employees on a headcount basis at 31 March 2025. On a full-time-equivalent basis, employment was 516,150. The two measures describe different aspects of the workforce: headcount counts employees, while full-time equivalent reflects working time. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
Women made up 54.6% of the Civil Service workforce at that date. Civil servants from an ethnic-minority background represented 18.0% of the workforce, and civil servants declaring a disability represented 17.9%. People identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or another recorded sexual orientation represented 7.2% of the Civil Service.
The release also provides age, grade and pay measures. The median age of Civil Service employees was 44 years. The median Civil Service salary was £35,680. The median gender pay gap was 6.4%, while the mean gender pay gap was 6.9%. The median and mean measures are distinct summaries and should not be treated as interchangeable. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
Employees at Executive Officer grade or above represented 75.0% of the Civil Service. The five largest departments accounted for 67.7% of the Civil Service workforce, showing that staffing was concentrated among a relatively small group of departments.
Civil Service grades and regional distribution
The grade profile changed between 31 March 2015 and 31 March 2025. Employees in the most junior Administrative Assistant/Administrative Officer grades represented 39.9% of the Civil Service in 2015, compared with 25.0% in 2025. Over the same comparison, employees in Grade 6 and Grade 7 represented 9.3% in 2015 and 16.2% in 2025. Both figures are shares of the Civil Service for the stated date, rather than counts of employees.
There were also notable differences between departments at 31 March 2025. The Department for Work and Pensions had 76.4% of staff at Executive Officer grade or below. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero had 95.1% of employees at Higher Executive Officer/Senior Executive Officer grade or above. These departmental measures describe different grade distributions and should not be read as a ranking of workforce quality or pay. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
London was the workplace location for 19.6% of civil servants at 31 March 2025, down from 21.2% at 31 March 2021. London nevertheless had the largest regional headcount, with 107,105 civil servants. North West England had 72,800 and Scotland had 56,675. East England had 23,210, the fewest among the listed UK regions excluding Northern Ireland and overseas staff. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
Professions and movement in the Civil Service
Operational Delivery was the largest named Civil Service profession at 56.8% of civil servants on 31 March 2025. Policy accounted for 6.9%, Digital and Data for 5.2%, Project Delivery for 3.9%, and Science and Engineering for 2.9%. These are profession shares reported for the same date, and the figures listed here do not represent the entire profession classification because other categories are not included in this summary. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
Workforce movement during 2024/25 included 44,310 Civil Service entrants and 38,610 people who left the Civil Service. Entrants and leavers are flow measures for the financial year, whereas the headcount and full-time-equivalent figures above are workforce measures at 31 March 2025. They therefore describe movement during a period and workforce size at a point in time, respectively. UK Government, Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025
U.S. public workforce ownership and federal change
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 QCEW coverage figures report annual-average covered employees by level of government. The federal-government workforce had 2,913,515 annual-average covered employees in 2025. State government had 4,894,763, while local government had 14,763,811. These are annual-average covered employees, so they use a different measurement basis from the UK point-in-time estimates and the UK Civil Service headcount. BLS, 2025 QCEW Coverage
| U.S. government level | Annual-average covered employees | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Federal | 2,913,515 | 2025 |
| State | 4,894,763 | 2025 |
| Local | 14,763,811 | 2025 |
The distribution is strongly weighted toward local government in the BLS coverage figures. Local government had more annual-average covered employees than state government, while federal government had the smallest of the three reported totals. The figures are ownership-level workforce counts, not a measure of the services delivered or the number of departments.
The Office of Personnel Management dashboard reported a decrease of 271,363 federal employees since 20 January 2025, measured through 30 September 2026. The same dashboard reported a net increase of 129,260 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs since fiscal year 2015, through fiscal year 2026. It also reported 139,963 federal employee actions associated with the Deferred Resignation Program in 2025. These dashboard figures use their stated dates and definitions and are not directly interchangeable with the BLS annual-average coverage data. OPM, Workforce Changes