Alan Downey, partner and head of public sector at KPMG, has reacted to the publication – today – of the latest employment figures. He says:
“Public sector headcount is continuing to fall rapidly. That comes as no surprise – it is an inevitable consequence of the government’s deficit reduction strategy. Nor should we be unduly worried, as there is no necessary relationship between the number of public servants and the quality of public services: so long as productivity improves, the public sector will be able to provide high quality services with a significantly smaller workforce.
“The big challenge for the government – and for the country as a whole – is to ensure that private sector employment increases at a pace that more than compensates for the decline in the public sector. These figures suggest that the equation is working, as the increase of 250,000 in private sector employment dwarves the fall of 39,000 in the public sector. This is not only good for the economy in general, but also good news for those public servants who have lost their jobs, as it suggests there will be opportunities for them to find work in the private sector.”
Ends
Media enquiries:
Mike Petrook, KPMG Press Office
020 7311 5271 (t), 07917 384 576 (m) or mike.petrook@kpmg.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 11,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.7 billion in the year ended September 2011. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 145,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
