The figures cast some doubt over the common assumption that it is the public sector which is bearing the brunt of the government’s austerity measures, in the battle to get national debt under control. However the figures, although revealing, do not tell the whole story, as they show average pay rates and not direct comparisons between comparable jobs in the two sectors.

One potential explanation for the widening gap is that many former public workers are now on a private contract basis for doing essentially the same jobs but employed through agencies or private firms on a contracted basis on lower rates of pay. The ONS offered several other possible explanations for the gap, including the fact that employees were generally older in the public sector and salaries usually increased with age, and that the public sector had a greater proportion of skilled jobs.

Neil Carberry, a director of the employer’s organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), claimed that regardless of the methodology it was ‘clear that public sector pay is still considerably higher than pay in the private sector’. He went on to stress the ‘need to ensure that public sector salaries reflect local labour market conditions, by putting pay decisions into the hands of individual employers at the local level’.

However, those with public sector accounting jobs may suffer less from the contraction of the public sector as their skills will be increasingly called upon to ensure greater productivity in local and national administration. The key for public sector accountants will be in recognising where their organisations are getting the best value for money and highlighting areas of inefficiency and waste. In this way they can fulfil a vital role in making savings and allowing investment to be targeted at projects that make the best of available resources.

This will not be an easy task. Public sector finances in many cases are stretched to the limit as administration tries to balance the provision of the high quality services demanded by the public with ever tightening purse strings. Professionals seeking public sector accounting jobs will have to demonstrate their clear understanding of getting the best value possible for the taxpayer.

For lawyers who are looking for a role that will help shape communities and society in the future there is plenty of opportunity in the public sector. On both a national and local level, organisations need legally trained staff to help shape new legislation and policy and ensure it complies with current laws. The influence of legal advisors on the final shape of all new policies is vital and always has a significant impact.

For advocates, a public sector legal job offers the chance to make a compelling case not just on behalf of institutions themselves but also for an organisation’ s clients. Lawyers interested in social justice often enjoy the prospect of being assigned a rich and diverse range of cases to argue.

For lawyers who enjoy working with detail and process, there is also a wealth of employment prospects in the public sector. Demand for legal staff working in planning and property is always consistently high and can involve issues ranging in size from individual household application to multi million pound investment projects.

Badenoch and Clark is a leader in the field of public sector legal jobs and always has a range of positions available, whatever a lawyer’s chosen area of interest.

Unfortunately, this trend is one that is likely to continue over the next few of years as women will be affected by planned cuts to public sector jobs. Women are disproportionately represented in the public sector, making up about 65% of the entire workforce. The figure is even higher in some local authorities and they will therefore be harder hit by staff reductions.

The cuts in both national and local public sectors are part of the government’s austerity programme as it struggles to bring the national public deficit under control. In its November 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office of Budgetary Responsibility estimated that 710,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector between now and 2017. In addition to the cuts, the public sector pay rises have been restricted to 1% for the next two years until 2015.

The study claimed that Scotland’s current £9.2 billion annual public procurement expenditure was dictated by the need to find the cheapest option and that the process of bundling contracts to take advantage of economies of scale was removing many Scottish firms from contention. Out of 49 major public contracts, it was found that 28 had no effective Scottish participation. The report argued that contracts should be designed to allow medium and small companies a chance to be awarded public works, which would benefit the local economy.

In a response to the report, the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, Alex Neil, announced a review of construction procurement.  He confirmed that the Scottish government was committed to introducing the Sustainable Procurement Bill which would include a number of community benefit clauses designed to ensure that public procurement policy was favourable to Scottish businesses.

The Sustainable Procurement Bill could provide a powerful boost to jobs in Scotland as small and medium firms will stand to reap considerable benefits from the procurement reform it offers.

A keen eye on reducing loss is creating vacancies for benefit fraud investigators.

As the public sector settles into doing business in a leaner, more efficient way we anticipate more roles becoming available for marketers as departments seek to improve the perception of the public sector brand.

Opportunities
As well as being directly involved in delivering public services such as environmental, leisure employment and social services, there are also jobs in the healthcare, teaching, the Armed Forces, the Emergency Services and local councils.

The number of roles varies depending on the economic and political climate. Despite this, local authorities are required to offer certain services at a matter of statute, meaning those roles will always be needed.

The public sector does offer a huge amount of career progression and invests heavily in training to develop personal and workplace skills. Staff are often promoted from within, so staff retention levels are high.

Salaries

Salaries are very competitive with the private sector and are graded so that each employee knows what level they are on and what they need to do get promoted or to achieve a pay rise.

Flexibility
The public sector environment is one that has a flexible approach to alternative working patterns such as part-time work, flexitime and job sharing. Free childcare is also available to many.

• Budgets were tightened, organisational structures reviewed and new accountability rules were put in place.

• Ongoing change led to temporary roles becoming the norm, with permanent roles being much less in supply in the second half of the year.  There was almost stagnant growth in salaries and a larger than anticipated drop in the total number of roles available.

• Funding cuts and changes to pensions, salary and working conditions caused poor morale, strikes and public demonstrations of disappointment, severely damaging the public sector brand.

• 2012 sees fundamental changes to the way tax credits are paid which will have a profound impact on the housing industry.  Such changes will need strong management and we anticipate an increase in positions for advisors and change managers.

• Support providers will dwindle as their funding is cut and more innovative ways of securing funding will be required opening the way to new roles being created for senior fundraisers and those with corporate fundraising experience.

• Housing authorities and RSLs will seek to protect vital income streams placed at risk due to the tax credit and funding changes so we anticipate more vacancies for candidates with strong rent arrears collection experience.

• With the emphasis and accountability in the new fire risk assessments being firmly placed on landlords and assessors themselves we expect to see a rise in the number of qualified assessor roles coming on board.

• With a strong focus on improving efficiency and saving costs, we anticipate strategic alliances being set up by housing associations to procure maintenance and repairs services.  This will result in increased demand for maintenance managers with departmental responsibility.

Overall we saw slight upwards movement in contract and permanent salaries growth year on year although these figures were dwarfed by the high drop (16% and 24%) we saw in overall permanent and contract vacancies last year.

We predict 2012 will bring a renewed focus on efficiencies and business intelligence as public sector organisations seek to make the best use of reduced budgets.

How do our predictions stack up against yours?

Tell us what you expect to see from an attraction, retention or talent management point of view in the public sector during 2012 in the comment box below:

For example, if your manager is somebody who moans about people bringing them problems all of the time, then never present a problem to them without a solution. Even if they don’t like the solution, they will appreciate your initiative. Altogether, managing upwards makes you more in control of your relationship with your boss, meaning a better day at work all round.

Here are some suggestions:

Figure out how your boss likes to receive information and be sure to present it like this all of the time – whether it’s in the form of bullet-point emails or five-minute meetings.

Ask your boss for help or advice at strategic points. The fact that you are looking to them for expertise is a compliment that they will appreciate.

Always try to anticipate how your boss might react to any given situation. This will help you to prepare a suitable response. This is all about being on the front foot.

Keep your boss in the loop with your life so that if you ever need to leave early to deal with a personal situation, they will understand why.

Stress is becoming a bigger issue in the workplace as people in roles such as civil service jobs work harder in the tough economic climate.

But with Christmas coming up, there is a potential spell of respite for workers in need of it as the festive period gives the majority of people extended time off.

One health expert – Steve Finnemore, specialist massage therapist – believes that one of the best things people can do over the Christmas period is to de-stress and he gives many ways in which workers can do this.

Among the methods he recommends are reading a book, having a massage or taking a long bath, while listening to peaceful music might also do the trick.

In a nutshell, he says that people feeling stressed out should look to "anything that takes your thoughts away, your stresses, and leaves you feeling calm".

Furthermore, Mr Finnemore added that getting out and about into the crisp, fresh winter air will also do people feeling the strain the world of good.

"The most effective ways to de-stress include some physical activity such as walking. In winter, getting sunlight can be difficult and finding some time each day to be outside, even on cloudy days, can really improve your wellbeing," he explained.

Last month, the Scottish Association for Mental Health said that there is still a big stigma surrounding the issue of mental health as many people still do not know what it means or what to do about it.

The organisation's Carolyn Roberts – head of policy and campaigns – explained that the problem stretches across all of England, Scotland and Wales and is something that still requires more work.

Mr Finnemore added that Christmas can also be a stressful period, so people will need to take every chance they get to relax and have some time to themselves.