600,000 public sector jobs lost

Since the coalition came into power, more than 600,000 public sector jobs have been lost.

By the time the next election comes around, fresh cuts are expected to take the number to one million according to a new study.

The GMB union’s research has shown that the impact of the Government’s austerity measures have been “devastating”.

Not only have job cuts been a result of the measures, but the union has said public sector workers have also been forced to accept pay cuts.

Brian Strutton, National Officer, GMB, says: “These new statistics show the devastating effect of this Government's austerity cuts on total public sector employment. In particular, some parts of the country that are most dependent on the public sector to support their local economies have been hardest hit.

“The tragedy is that the worse is yet to come. The Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast for net total public sector job losses during the lifetime of this Parliament means that the prospect for the next two years could be up to a further 400,000 job losses.”