Public sector workforce

The public sector forms a key component of Edinburgh's workforce and accounts for more than 85,000 jobs, including civil service posts and healthcare and education workers. However as a proportion of total employment in the city, this represents only 27.9%, ranking Edinburgh the eighth lowest of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

By contributing to private sector and graduate employment, the public sector is seen as supporting rather than dominating the local economy and contributes significantly to its knowledge base.

The 3,500 Scottish Government staff employed in the city include many senior roles, offering an ‘occupational pyramid‘ for civil service career development outside the traditional Whitehall hub. The cluster of Scottish Parliament, UK and devolved government agencies and non-departmental public bodies in Edinburgh make it a powerful centre of national and regional government.

This is strengthened by a further 90,000 public sector jobs across the wider Edinburgh City Region.