Civil service employment in 2011 – Down in the State civil service, up overall in the hospital civil service branch

On 31 December 2011, 5.5 employees worked in the civil service in France. In the space of one year, the overall headcount was down by 0.5%. The fall was most pronounced in the State civil service (-2.0%), while the workforce was stable in the territorial civil service (+0.3%) and increased in the hospital civil service (+1.3%). Despite the fall in numbers, the total annual volume of work in the civil service remained stable, notably due to a slight rise in the number of full-time employees. The trends in the number of beneficiaries of State-aided contracts (134,500 in 2011) and of non-permanent employees were contrasted from one civil service branch to another. On average, one job in five in France is in the civil service. In Metropolitan France, this proportion varies between the regions, from 17 % in the Pays de la Loire to 24 % in Limousin. In the Overseas Departments, it peaks at 32% with a large proportion of State-aided contracts. The share of employees aged 50 years or over is higher in the south-western quarter of the country, and in certain departments in the south-east.