2008 Workforce Profile of the Public Service

14 November 2008

The State Services Commissioner, Iain Rennie, today released the results of an annual survey summarising workforce statistics in Public Service departments.

Compiled by the State Services Commission, the annual Human Resource Capability (HRC) survey contains a wide range of information, including staff numbers, retention and recruitment, pay and benefits, diversity, and leave.

"In the 12 months to 30 June 2008, the number of public servants increased by 3.6 percent to 45,934. This is the smallest percentage increase over the past eight years," Iain Rennie said.

"Most of the recent increases in staff numbers can be attributed to the Department of Corrections for the Spring Hill and Otago Regional Corrections Facilities, Inland Revenue Department for KiwiSaver, and the Department of Labour, where front-line immigration staff were employed to support the increase in work volumes over the past year.

"Between 2003 and 2008, employment in the public sector as a whole increased by 12.2 percent compared with an increase of 12.0 percent in the employed labour force," Iain Rennie said.

Among the HRC survey's other conclusions:

* Turnover rates increased to 15 percent, from 14 percent in 2007. The occupations with the highest turnover rates were call or contact centre operators, human resource advisors and managers, and public relations professionals.

* The median salary as at 30 June 2008 was $51,000, and over the 12 months to 30 June 2008 the average salary rose by 5.1 percent to $59,532. Statistics New Zealand's Labour Cost Index shows that over the past five years, the change in salary and wage rates for the Public Service has been lower than that in the Health and Education sectors and similar to that in the private sector.

* The proportion of Maori public servants has remained static over the past three years, declining slightly from 16.8 percent in 2007 to 16.7 percent in 2008. The European ethnic group continued to decrease, with 72.5 percent of Public Servants identifying themselves as European, down from 77.5 percent in 2003.

The full report is available of the State Services Commission website: http://www.ssc.govt.nz/hrc-survey-2008

ENDS

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