Public sector redundancy rate remains low

Public organisations’ turnover rates remained lower than private companies in 2010, suggesting that the public sector refrained from significant redundancy programmes.

According to the 2011 XpertHR staff turnover rates and costs survey, labour turnover rates in the public sector stood at an average of 12.6% of employees at each organisation, compared with 17.4% of workers in the private sector.

The report adds that, as this figure included redundancies, it does not suggest that many public sector organisations carried out significant redundancy programmes in 2010.

Rachel Suff, author of the report, commented: “This finding is despite reports of widespread efficiency drives, spending cuts and job losses in the public sector in order to reduce the UK budget deficit. But some commentators believe the worst is yet to come in terms of public sector cuts.”

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The survey of 247 employers also found that the average voluntary resignation rate stood at 10.1% of employees, with the highest rates once again experienced by private sector services at 10.6%, followed by the manufacturing and production sector at 9.9% and the public sector at 8.2%.

Additionally, many employers saw large changes to their labour turnover in 2010, with one in three (31.4%) saying that it had changed substantially over the past 12 months.