State public service ranks continue to swell under Labor

More than 1300 new public servants were added to the state’s growing wages bill, bringing the number employed since the since the Palaszczuk Government came to power to almost 29,000.

MORE than 1300 new public servants were added to the state’s growing wages bill, bringing the number employed since the since the Palaszczuk Government came to power to almost 29,000, the latest workforce statistics show.

But the increase is less than in previous quarters, up by just less than 0.5 per cent on June.

The figures come after Treasurer Jackie Trad revealed in her Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review that public sector wages would cost almost $1 billion more than estimated over the forward estimates.

Treasurer Jackie Trad revealed in her Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review that public sector wages would cost almost $1 billion more than estimated over the forward estimates. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

The September quarter workforce figures, released on Friday, reveal the total headcount for the Queensland Public Service now sits at 269,215 up from 267,895 at the end of the June quarter.

That compares to the 240,372 employed at the end of the March quarter in 2015, just weeks into the Palaszczuk Government’s first term.

The largest intakes were in the areas of health and education with the number in the two highest pay brackets at senior officer and senior executive level increasing by 2379 in full-time equivalent terms.

According to the data, released yesterday, about 91.4 per cent of the public servants employed are classified as frontline or frontline support with the remainder considered corporate.

“It continues to be the case that more than nine out of 10 public servants (91.40%) are engaged in frontline and frontline support roles,” the government stated in relation to the figures.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander seized on the figures to accuse the government of continuing to lose control of its finances.

“Queenslanders are paying $7 billion more in wages each year and yet we have full departments in crisis, particularly in health and education,” he said.