The number of people working for the
civil service has hit its highest level in five years.
Staff numbers jumped 9,000 in the
past six months, bringing the total number to more than half a million – the
largest amount of workers in six years.
The Department for Work and Pensions
took on 7,000 new staff alone, saying it needed more people to test its range
of pilot programmes.
The Inland Revenue was the next
largest recruiter, employing an extra 1,200 people to “meet increased
workloads”.
Digby Jones, director-general of the
Confederation of British Industry, said: “We hope the government is not just
throwing people at the problems. We want public services to get better, not
just bigger.”
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