Report highlights growth in government workforce

The Isle of Man's government workforce has grown by 427 posts since 2021, with almost 95% of the new roles created in Manx Care, a report has found.

It represents a 5.8% increase of staffing within the island's public service over the four-year period, taking the total to 7802 full-time equivalent jobs.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan said the review, which is the first of planned quarterly reports, had provided "much needed transparency" on the issue.

Cannan is set to make a statement in Tynwald on Tuesday to update members on the document and efforts to improve efficiency across the public service.

In a statement in June, the island's most senior politician committed to a new "grip" of headcount to ensure a more "specific and detailed" outline of the number of workers in the public sector.

The first overview of the public service workforce, which looked at data from 2021 to 2024, found Manx Care had accounted for 408 of the 427 jobs created.

Boards and offices had increased by 30 and central government departments had reduced numbers by 12 full time equivalent jobs.

The report also showed the biggest government employers were the island's health care provider, which was created in 2021, followed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture, which had with 2,982 and 1,793 staff members respectively.

Cannan said the report provided "much needed transparency" but also served "as a reminder of the contribution made by the public sector workforce in so many aspects of community life".

He said: "Although the size of the government departments has reduced over the last four years, it is clear that the public service as whole is continuing to grow at a time when public finances are under pressure."

During the January sitting of the Manx parliament he would set out measures to "ensure the controls and governance around future recruitment are robust, with the explicit intention of restricting future growth", he added.

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