Public Sector Employment — Crown Dependencies

Government workforce size across the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and the United Kingdom — employment by sector from the census (1961–2021), OHR payroll FTE (2015–2024), and share of total employment.

Definition break — IoM series: Before 2007 the source is the IoM census "public administration" sector (dots only at each census year — 1961 to 2021). From 2015 the source is IOMG OHR payroll FTE, which includes health, education, police and fire and is therefore a substantially wider measure. The two series are not comparable and are not joined. The gap 2007–2014 reflects the absence of a published continuous FTE series for that period. The optional upper-bound series adds "professional, educational, medical and scientific services" to public administration — this is a ceiling that includes private sector employment in those fields.
Series

IoM census dots: public administration sector only (1961–2021, Statistics IoM). IoM FTE line: OHR payroll (2015–2024), includes health, education, police, fire — not comparable with census dots. Upper bound (optional): public admin + professional/educational/medical/scientific sector combined — ceiling that includes private sector. Jersey: core GOJ jobs (Statistics Jersey, Dec 2002–2023). Guernsey: States FTE (Annual Accounts, 2021–22 only). UK excluded from absolute view — see Indexed tab.

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Base year = 100

Indexed: each series = 100 at the selected base year. IoM uses OHR FTE (2015+). Jersey = core GOJ jobs (Dec). Guernsey = States FTE (2021–22, two points). UK = ONS G7G3 total public sector FTE. Base year must fall within each series' date range — Guernsey and Jersey unavailable for 2015 base.

Comparability: The IoM census figure (7.3%) counts only the public administration sector — it excludes government employees working in health, education, police etc. The OHR FTE (~16%) covers all government employees but is FTE not headcount. The Stats Jersey 2024 international comparison gives census headcount %: IoM 19.6%, Guernsey 16.7%, Jersey 15.4%, UK 16.9% — a different and broader measure than any figure above.
IoM: public administration sector as % of total employed (census 1961–2021)

Source: IoM in Numbers 2025, Table 3. Public administration sector only — excludes govt employees in health, education, police. True government share is substantially higher (see OHR FTE ~16% in 2021). The dip in 1971 reflects census classification rather than a real contraction. Denominator is total employed from the same table.

Jersey: core GOJ jobs as % of total jobs (Dec 2002–2023)

Source: Statistics Jersey Labour Market report, December snapshot, Appendix 1. Core GOJ = permanent + fixed-term only. Dip 2014–17 partly reflects ~100 jobs reclassified to arms-length bodies (Andium Homes, Visit Jersey).

UK: public sector FTE as % of total employment (1999–2025)

Source: ONS G7G3 (public sector FTE, SA) / ONS LFS total employment. 2009–13 peak inflated by inclusion of Lloyds/RBS as public sector. Royal Mail reclassified to private Dec 2013 (~150k). NatWest returned to private Q1 2024 (~15k).

Isle of Man — census employment by sector (1961–2021)

Source: IoM in Numbers 2025, Table 3 — Employment by Sector 1961 to 2021 (Statistics Isle of Man, Cabinet Office, September 2025). Census anchor years: 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021. All values are observed census counts — no interpolation. The classification "professional, educational, medical and scientific services" is the IoM's own industrial classification and does not correspond to SIC 2007 sectors. It includes both public and private sector employment in those fields and cannot be used as a government employment proxy without adjustment.

The total employed figure from the same table is used as the denominator in the share panel. Note: 2011 and 2016 totals include a small "not stated or inadequately described" residual (146 and 609 respectively) not shown in sector rows.

Isle of Man — OHR payroll FTE (2015–2024)

Source: IOMG Office of Human Resources payroll data, released via Tynwald written answers and Freedom of Information requests. Covers all IOMG employees including civil servants, teachers, NHS/Manx Care staff, police, fire service. Excludes: Manx Utilities Authority, IOM Post Office, Crown appointments, judiciary, Tynwald members, agency staff. Points: 2015 (6,702.9), 2016 (6,736.5), 2018 (6,904.5), 2019 (6,930.7), 2020 (6,905.7), 2021 (7,049.4), 2022 (7,243.6), 2023 (7,432.5, Sep), 2024 (7,837, EPRC structural deficit report March 2026).

Jersey — core GOJ jobs (2002–2023)

Source: Statistics Jersey Labour Market report, December snapshot, Appendix 1. Core GOJ = permanent and fixed-term contracts only. Excludes zero-hours contracts, trading bodies, Parishes. Total jobs denominator from same report. Reclassification 2014–17: Andium Homes, Visit Jersey, Jersey Sport incorporated, moving ~100 jobs from core GOJ to private sector — the 2015–16 dip is partly definitional not structural.

Guernsey — States FTE (2021–22)

Source: States of Guernsey Annual Accounts. Core States only — excludes trading entities (Guernsey Post, Guernsey Water/Waste, Guernsey Dairy). Only two annual points currently available; additional years require extraction from individual Accounts PDFs (2007 onwards). 2024 Annual Accounts reference "over 6,500 FTEs" for the Group (including trading entities) — a different, wider measure.

United Kingdom — ONS G7G3 (1999–2025)

Source: ONS Public Sector Employment time series G7G3 — total public sector FTE, seasonally adjusted, thousands. Reclassifications: Lloyds/RBS included as public sector Dec 2008–Dec 2013 (inflates peak); Royal Mail to private Dec 2013 (~150k); NatWest returned to private Q1 2024 (~15k). LFS total employment used as denominator for % panel.

Definition break note

The IoM census "public administration" series and the OHR FTE series cannot be joined. The census series is a sector employment count (public administration activities only); the OHR series is a comprehensive government payroll count including health, education, police and fire. The 9-year gap (2007–2014) represents the absence of a published continuous FTE series, not a period of zero growth.