Fifth of Welsh councils jobs lost due to austerity

A new report from the Wales Governance Centre’s Fiscal Analysis team has highlighted the extraordinary impact that a decade of austerity has had on the council workforce in Wales.

The Public Sector in Wales report shows that 37,000 local government jobs were lost between December 2009 and September 2018, equating to 19.9 per cent of the workforce, as local government has had to endure almost £1 billion in cuts since the onset of austerity in 2009.

Leaders and councillors from across Wales have consistently argued that vital local services are no longer able to absorb further sweeping budget reductions without devastating implications for service delivery.

Anthony Hunt, Welsh Local Government Association Finance Spokesperson, said: “The pay bill for providing vital local services is £3.6 billion and we have to invest that to keep schools, day centres and treasured local facilities running to provide the support and services that people need on a daily basis. Just to inflation-proof pay for the staff providing local services will cost over £100 million in 2020-21. It is vital that governments at all levels start to recognise the how vital it is that local services receive a fair settlement that recognises these pressures in the run up to budget announcements in the Autumn.”