Source: PSA
New data revealing there are almost 30 people competing for each public sector job shows the human cost of the Government’s arbitrary cuts to the public service, says the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
Data from 75 public organisations shows there were almost 286,000 applications for 10,000 public service jobs in the first half of this year – a ratio of 28.5 applications per role, compared to just eight applications per role in 2023.
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says the figures expose the human cost of the Government’s arbitrary cuts to the public service.
“The numbers speak for themselves – competition for public sector jobs has more than tripled from eight applications per role in 2023 to almost 30 now. Real people who had more to give have been thrown on the scrapheap by a Government that made arbitrary 6.5 to 7.5 percent cuts across the board.
“Some large ministries dealt with thousands of applicants – the Ministry of Social Development alone had almost 20,000 applicants for 1,000 roles, while some agencies like Crown Law had 460 applications for just 13 roles.
“These cuts weren’t made because there was any identified need to reduce jobs or improve efficiency – they were made purely to pay for tax cuts including $3 billion for landlords. The human cost of those political priorities is now clear.
“This is a public service that is starting to crack under pressure as remaining staff struggle with increased workloads while their skilled colleagues who were providing essential services are now desperately seeking work, with many moving overseas.
“Among those cut were people modernising our IT systems to make our health system more responsive and efficient, and staff at the Department of Internal Affairs who keep our kids safe from online predators. These weren’t inefficiencies being trimmed – these were essential services being gutted.
“There is important work that needs to be done to support New Zealanders, and there are committed people ready and willing to do it. It makes no sense to have a public service under pressure while skilled people who were laid off are now struggling to find work.
“The Government needs to properly fund the public service to meet the needs of all New Zealanders,” Fitzsimons said.
