Skip to content

Course home

Sign up

Inflation

EasyMediumHard
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546474849505152
Question 33

The UK Public Sector Labour Market in 2022

Following a period of economic instability, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published data in late 2022 detailing shifts in public sector employment and remuneration.

Fig. 1 – UK public sector labour market statistics for Q3 2022

Number ('000)Change on previous quarter ('000)Change on previous year ('000)
Employed5 7401245
Unemployed (Sector seeking)185–4–18
Economically Inactive (Aged 16–64)1 2101538

Source: ONS

Key observations from the 2022 data release included:

  • average weekly earnings for public sector employees increased by 5.2% in nominal terms compared to the previous year.
  • average weekly earnings for public sector employees decreased by 3.1% in real terms compared to the previous year.
  • sector growth was strongest in health and social care, while public administration saw small contractions.
  • part-time contract underemployment remained a key issue, with 8.7% of public sector part-time workers wanting more hours.

Refer to the bullet points above. Identify and explain why the change in average weekly earnings in nominal terms is greater than the change in real terms.

[2]
Markscheme

Inflation Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Economics
  3. /Inflation

77 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Economics Inflation. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

Question bank