Be careful what you wish for. Following the trials and tribulations of the last half-decade, the UK employment market appears a lot more buoyant than we have perhaps witnessed since 2008. For many stakeholders, this is hugely positive news. This month's ONS figures point to employment markets in rude health. There are 31.05m in the UK workforce - more than ever before. Unemployment continues to fall and the economy has created some 349,000 jobs in the last year. Positive news for candidates, but it brings greater challenges for recruiting organisations. And much of this sense of challenge, perhaps even pain, is being experienced within the public sector. Delving a little deeper into the monthly ONS figures highlights the severity of challenge the sector faces as it attempts to deliver a positive employer brand narrative to candidates. The number of those people working in the public sector was 5.37m to March this year, a year-on-year decline of 59,000. This is the lowest number since comparable figures were initiated in 1999. Just five years ago, more than 22% of the UK workforce were employed within the public sector, that percentage is now 17.3% and falling. These figures too are net of the various re-classifications that have taken place.
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