LONDON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Almost 3 million people are employed by the central government in Britain, the highest number so far this century, figures released Wednesday revealed.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total number employed by the public sector in Britain in March 2017 was recorded as 5.424 million, down 20,000 on the previous year.
Within the total, the numbers employed by local government at city halls and in local authorities across the country is down 25,000 over the same period, at 2.123 million. That represents the lowest figure in the sector since comparable records began in 1999.
But there has been an increase of 20,000 in the number working for central government. The current total of 2.995 million is the highest since comparable records began in 1999.
There are also more civil servants employed by the government, with the number now reaching 419,000, an increase of 3,000 compared to the end of 2016. But that figure is down from the 565,000 civil servants employed a decade ago. The civil service forms the permanent bureaucracy or secretariat supporting the British government.
ONS said of all people in work in Britain, one-in-six, or 17 percent are employed in the public sector, the lowest percentage since comparable records began in 1999.
The increase seen this year in the number working in central government jobs is partly as a result of increased employment in school academies and the National Health Service, added ONS.
