Public sector headcount would have increased by 65 positions by January had it not been for the civil service recruitment freeze that began in August last year, according to the Government.
It also said that this increase would have equated to an annual cost of £3.9m based on the average cost per employee.
The news follows the recently-announced extension of the recruitment freeze to include civil servants earning £53,500 or more until at least March 2026.
In the announcement, the Government said it also removed 1,000 unfilled vacancies, “saved millions of pounds for taxpayers” and “prioritised frontline services”.
Following questions from Express about where these savings had been made, the Government said that cuts to senior leadership, alongside a restructuring of the communications service, saved £1.7m in 2024.
Director of Education and Group Director of Economy were both cited as examples of the roles that have gone.
The Government CEO previously pointed to these as two of seven senior roles that had been removed since the he took post – representing an annual saving to the public purse of almost £1.2m.
The Government also said that, whilst it was expected that it would take at least 12 months before a reduction in headcount would be seen, it was possible to take 1,000 unfilled vacancies out of the system straight away.
Deputy Malcom Ferey, Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, recently said the Government’s drive to “curb the growth in the size of the public sector, focus on frontline staff and develop on-island talent” was working.
The scope of the recruitment freeze has been extended from civil service staff of grade 11 and above, to those of grade nine and above. Grade nine employees earn a minimum of £53,589 annually.
The freeze does not apply to any clinical, teaching or social worker roles.