Oh Dear: Public Sector Growth Accelerating

[Lucifer Box]

Public sector growth accelerating

The public sector is creating new jobs at a faster rate than private business, according to the latest official data.

At the same time, UK productivity is now at its lowest level for 15 years, further figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Analysts have long argued that the government sector trails behind the wider economy in terms of productivity.

Overall productivity grew by 0.5% in the year to July, the lowest since 1990 and down from 2.5% a year earlier.

Health sector

During the 12 months the public sector added 95,000 new positions, an increase of 1.7% to 5.8 million jobs.

The private sector created an extra 210,000 jobs, a 1% increase.

Most new positions in the public sector were in health and social services, up by 60,000.

This was followed by 50,000 extra central government jobs and 40,000 in local government.

Political row

The government agrees that the public sector needs to become more efficient.

Last year Chancellor Gordon Brown unveiled a wave of planned cut-backs to the state bureaucracy, arguing that public sector efficiencies could unlock £20bn per year in economic value, and calling for 80,000 job cuts by 2008.

Since 1 April 2004, the government says it has cut 12,000 civil service jobs, in line with its targets.

The Conservatives also think the public sector is inefficient, saying that Labour has not done enough to boost productivity.

George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, said:

"Gordon Brown was promising in the run-up to the election to spend taxpayer's money more efficiently, we now learn that at the same time he was busy expanding the government's bureaucracy."

But a government spokesman said that figures showed "the government is making progress towards its aim of releasing more resources to front line public services - building on the unprecedented numbers of staff delivering better public services in schools and hospitals - by delivering a more efficient civil service."

Public Sector Growth

So no real surprise there then. And even most of those trumpeted 12,000 are doing exactly the same job but have been outsourced to a PFI provider paid for by the taxpayer anyway.

[Rebecca Loos]

OK, so come on, let's hear it from the ones amongst us who are working in the public sector:

what do you need to say to blag your way in? How do you pretend you know the public sector inside out?

Rebecca in "I want in!" mode

[Lucifer Box]

I'm thinking more and more, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". May as well be part of the problem as part of the solution.

[voron]

I'm thinking more and more, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". May as well be part of the problem as part of the solution.

Be very careful what you wish for. It might just come true, and then it's too late

Yes, the public sector is growing like crazy. I've been involved in quite a bit of public sector popping recently, especially during my previous contract. But as soon as you kick the buggers out of one door you find just as many being welcomed in through another. A perfect example is the Home Office IND - they are currently going through a huge recruitment campaign (friend of mine is a PM on the project - Judas!).

One of the major issues is that you identify savings and efficiencies for them, but they don't bloody use. Increased efficiency just makes the civil servants even more lazy and feckless

[Lucifer Box]

Be very careful what you wish for. It might just come true, and then it's too late

Yes, the public sector is growing like crazy. I've been involved in quite a bit of public sector popping recently, especially during my previous contract. But as soon as you kick the buggers out of one door you find just as many being welcomed in through another. A perfect example is the Home Office IND - they are currently going through a huge recruitment campaign (friend of mine is a PM on the project - Judas!).

One of the major issues is that you identify savings and efficiencies for them, but they don't bloody use. Increased efficiency just makes the civil servants even more lazy and feckless

I came across an interesting looking gig at Transport for London a couple of days ago. Was thinking of applying.

Lucifer in "going over to the dark side" mode.

[voron]

I came across an interesting looking gig at Transport for London a couple of days ago. Was thinking of applying.

Lucifer in "going over to the dark side" mode.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Don't do it. Just learn to say 'no'.

Voron in 'hate my current client' mode.

[Lucifer Box]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Don't do it. Just learn to say 'no'.

Voron in 'hate my current client' mode.

It gets worse, Voron, it's a permie position!

[voron]

It gets worse, Voron, it's a permie position!

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH HHH!!!!

A permie civil servant?! What's your home address? I can be there in 30 minutes to kidnap you until you return to your senses - it's for your own good.

Not even I would consider a permie public sector job, and I'm a feckless idiot on a Burger King rate!

Unless, of course, it's as a senior director paying £250,000 plus benefits. Then it might be worth it for a year or two, but you will be forever damned to the public sector. Friend of mine has 25 years telcom experience. He accepted a public sector contract a couple of years ago and since then he hasn't been able to find anything beyond the sector.

[Lucifer Box]

The major reason is that I feel I need to be on a regular PAYE scheme for 12 months or so to get some of those red flags at the tax office lowered. Now I don't really want to do it, so I'm looking for a relatively lowly job that requires little in the way of effort or work but pays sufficient salary to make me a higher rate salaried tax payer for a year or so. The public sector naturally sprang to mind.

I can continue to run my consultancy at the same time because, at the moment, I'm doing relatively little of the work directly myself, having engaged a couple of third parties to do the donkey work (at the moment I'm primarily fulfilling a sales and co-ordination role) and I only attend progress meetings on site with my major client about once a month or so - they are very much of the mentality "as long as the deliverables appear on the due date and everyone's happy with them we don't care what you get up to in the meantime."

What do you think?

[wendigo100]

Not even I would consider a permie public sector job, and I'm a feckless idiot on a Burger King rate!

It has its attractions. Job for life, don't have to do much, retire early with a big pension paid for out of taxes.

Of course, your modus operandi is turned on its head. You are always looking at why something cannot be done, rather than how to get it done, and you create and keep piles of paper with the sole intent of covering your @rse.