Over half of all public sector vacancies were in the Children, Young People, Education and Skills department, a new report has revealed – with 14 full-time social work positions currently unfilled.

Published today, the latest Public Sector Staffing Statistics showed that there were 66 unfilled vacancies in June this year, giving the public sector a vacancy rate of just 0.8%.

More than half of those (38) were in Children, Young People, Education and Skills, including 14 full-time social work positions.

It comes less than a year after a report found that frequent changes in social workers and managers were “negatively impacting” children in care.

The Public Sector Staffing Statistics report also revealed that the overall Government headcount fell by 288 between June 2024 and June 2025.

It marks the first time in years that the number of people on Jersey’s public payroll has fallen – although permanent staff numbers have risen in health and education.

Reductions were made across departments including the Cabinet Office, Economy, Digital Services, People Services and Treasury and Exchequer – but the headcount decrease was largely driven by a decline in zero-hour staff, particularly in Health and Care Jersey.

The overall number of permanent staff rose from 7,852 to 8,156, with a sharp jump in Health. The report attributed this to Public Health employees moving over from the Cabinet Office, and a significant increase (99) in full-time-equivalent nurses and midwives.

There was also significant growth in Children, Young People, Education and Skills staff levels owing to in increase in teaching assistants and catering staff.

The report showed that the Government employed 9,786 people at the end of June 2025 – almost 300 fewer than a year earlier.

It comes just a few months after the States Employment Board revealed that the civil service recruitment freeze that began in August last year will remain in place until at least March 2026.

Its scope was also extended from staff of grade 11 and above, to those of grade nine and above.

Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said: “We have strengthened frontline services, particularly in health and education, by recruiting more people into permanent roles, while at the same time introducing a recruitment freeze in other areas.

“This has enabled us to reduce the overall size of the public sector, ensuring government works more effectively, and that resources remain focused on the services islanders rely on most.”