Public service headcount and pay increases, spending on consultants down slightly

The number of fulltime public service positions is up 4.5 per cent on the prior year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The public service continued to grow last year, adding the equivalent of 2726 full-time equivalent roles in the year to June 30, 2023.

That equates to an increase of 4.5 per cent on the prior year, and takes the overall number of full-time equivalent public servants to 63,117.

Data on the public service workforce, released today by the Public Service Commission, showed average earnings were up in the last 12 months, rising 7 per cent on the previous year, taking the average annual salary for a public servant to $97,200.

The increase was slightly lower than the average increase in private sector average earnings, which was 7.7 per cent.

After a concerted effort from the Government, spending on contractors fell, but only slightly.

Contractor and consulting spend was $912 million, down 0.7 per cent on the $918m spent the year prior.

Spending on contractors and consultants comprised 13.1 per cent of public sector workforce spending, down from 14.5 per cent a year prior, and lower than the 13.4 per cent booked in 2017/18 when the new reporting method was introduced.

Chief executive pay increased, but only slightly, up 2.3 per cent. The net change in chief executive pay over the last five years is a 2.2 per cent decrease.

The growth in the public sector became a hot topic on the campaign trail this year, with most parties committing to cuts to “backroom” functions. In one of its last significant acts in Government, Labour moved to reduce baseline spending in some non-front line departments by 2 per cent.

National promised an additional 6 per cent reduction to some baselines, while Act wanted to reduce the overall backroom headcount to 2017 levels. Some mix of these promised cuts is likely in the next 12 months, possibly as early as this year with National promising a mini-budget before Chistmas.

The public service is becoming more diverse, and more women were in senior leadership roles.

There is still a large gender pay gap in the public service, although the gap is the smallest since records began in 2000. Women are paid 7.1 per cent less than men, in 2000 the gap was 18.6 per cent.

Pay gaps for most other ethnicities are closing. The Māori pay gap is now 5.4 per cent, down from 6.5 per cent in 2022. The Pacific pay gap has fallen to 16.6 per cent, down from 17.7 per cent last year. The Asian pay gap has increased, rising to 13 per cent from 12.4 per cent.

The number of women in leadership rose to 55.9 per cent, up just slightly from 55.8 per cent the year prior.

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.