Public administration: characteristics of the workforce

The majority of the workforce, particularly in local government, is female and a significant proportion work part time - more than half the local government working population is in part-time employment - and this proportion is likely to increase as budgets are reduced further. The sector has a larger proportion both of young (under 25) and older (over 55) employees than the private sector. The sector also has a much higher proportion of its workforce qualified to degree level than the UK workforce as a whole, but does not carry out a great deal of research and development; most is devolved to specific organisations. The Research Councils are the main exception and are a popular employer for doctoral graduates.

London is the most common location for workers in the sector, but unlike many other sectors, there is significant employment around the United Kingdom.