Governments across the OECD rely on a dedicated and skilled public sector workforce to deliver a wide range of policies and services for their citizens and to generate the conditions needed to achieve prosperity. While some services are provided directly by public organisations, others are delivered through partnerships with private or non-profit organisations. As a result, the composition and size of public employment vary across OECD countries, reflecting different policy choices and institutional frameworks. For instance, in some countries the majority of healthcare professionals, teachers and emergency responders are public employees, whereas in others these roles are primarily filled by workers in private or non-profit organisations operating within publicly funded systems. Over time, changes in the size and structure of public employment have also been influenced by broader economic and social developments affecting the labour market.
The share of general government employment varies significantly across OECD countries. It is highest in the Nordic countries, where government employment makes up close to one-third of total employment: Norway (30.1%), Sweden (28.2%), Denmark (27.3%) and Finland (25.2%). In contrast, Chile, Japan and Korea recorded the lowest shares among OECD countries, with general government employment below 10% of total employment (Figure 13.1).
Overall, the share of general government employment has remained relatively stable over time. In 2023 general government employment averaged 18.4% of total employment across OECD countries, a slight increase of 0.3 percentage points since 2019. The greatest increases between 2019 and 2023 were in Latvia (+4.5 p.p.), Estonia (+1.4 p.p.) and the United Kingdom (+1.1 p.p.). Conversely, the greatest decreases over that period were in Lithuania (-1.1. p.p.), France (-0.9 p.p.) and Hungary (-0.9 p.p.) (Figure 13.1).
The overall increase in the share of general government employment was largely due to general government employment growing faster rate than total employment. Between 2019 and 2023, general government employment grew by an average of 1.6% per year between 2019 and 2023, while total employment grew by 1.1% (Figure 13.2). General government employment grew in all but two OECD countries (Costa Rica and Hungary), and total employment grew in all but four (Costa Rica, Japan, Latvia and Mexico). Around two-thirds of OECD countries saw general government employment outpace total employment growth or not fall as fast. Among these countries, the widest gaps in growth rates between the two employment categories were in Latvia (5.4 p.p. difference), Costa Rica (2.9 p.p. difference) and Portugal (2.0 p.p. difference). Among the remaining one-third of countries, the greatest differences between the two growth rates, resulting in a declining share of government employment, were in Lithuania (1.3 p.p. difference), France and Hungary (both 1.1. p.p. difference).
