Public sector jobs in the UK are increasing annually. Reports show March 2023 being a record month with a 98% increase for the public sector
Public sector jobs can range from teaching and nursing to administration and case workers. Which, in 2022, rose by 26% in the UK.
Research by job data recruiter Robert Walters finds that 10,343 new ‘white-collar’ roles were advertised in the first season of 2023, marking a 28% increase since 2021.
Habiba Khatoon, Director at specialist recruitment firm Robert Walters comments: “The increase in public sector jobs has been driven by a range of factors, including increased demand for services across the board, including healthcare, education, and housing.
“The government’s investment into infrastructure projects and initiatives is clearly paying dividends in the form of job creation, and the significant spike in demand for tech & digital skillsets highlights where the sector would like to move toward.”
Future-proofing the most sought-after jobs: IT management
In terms of job function and recruitment, IT Management has become the leading field being recruited for across the public sector, with vacancies up by 113% on the 2022 monthly average.
IT management now makes up 7% of all the professional vacancies that were advertised by public sector organisations in Q1, followed by communications roles being recruited for by the public sector.
Which areas saw the greatest improvements on the job front?
Whilst London continues to be the largest area by way of job advertisements at 33%, the city has seen a 1% drop in job advertisements since last year.
In comparison, the report found that the North of England has seen professional vacancies in public sector jobs up by 40%, meaning it now accounts for 25% of all vacancies in the UK, thanks to its increased activity and share.
Similarly, the Midlands has also seen a 22% rise in white-collar public sector jobs – accounting for 14% of all vacancies in the region.
Surprisingly, Wales has been found to be the fastest growing region, up by 57%, but equally only has a small share of the overall total vacancies (4%).
Wales has been found to be the fastest growing region
Habiba adds: “Regions outside of London continue to be an attractive location for public sector organisations to relocate or create satellite hubs – not only to tap into senior talent that did in fact move out of larger cities such as London post-pandemic but to tap into the wealth of young emerging talent and graduates that are opting to stay in cities such as Birmingham or Manchester.
“In fact, with Birmingham boasting one of the youngest working populations in the UK, being home to three leading universities, and growing its emerging tech & finance hub are all very attractive attributes for firms looking save money on high office rent but not sacrifice on the quality of talent.”
Overall, the report noted these data changes to public sector jobs:
- 12% increase in public sector professional roles in Q1 – compared to Q4 2022
- 26% increase in public sector professional roles in Q1 2023 – vs last year
- March 2023 was a record-breaking month – 98% increase in jobs vs last year
- Tech leading the way in job roles creation in public sector – +113% increase in IT management skills
- The North (+40%) and The Midlands (+22%) outpaced London in job growth
What skills are in demand by public sector job vacancies and adverts?
| % change in job vacancies Q1 2023 vs Q1 2022 | % of job adverts asking for skillset | |
| Communications | -5.13% | 5.59% |
| IT Development & Engineering | 8.25% | 4.44% |
| HR Recruitment | -6.64% | 4.01% |
| IT Management | 113.13% | 6.83% |
| Digital Marketing | 2.61% | 3.05% |
| Management Accounting | 5.28% | 3.42% |
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