State workers earn average of £10k more than private sector workers

STATE workers earn £10,000 a year more than those in the private sector, shock figures show.

And cash from tax increases supposed to be spent on schools and hospitals has instead been blown on a massive public sector jobs splurge.

Labour’s pledge to slash state posts has been a miserable failure.

A staggering 23,000 new jobs with pay totalling nearly £800million were advertised this year.

That is virtually no change from 2003, when ministers promised a cull.

The average salary is £35,000 — while the private sector average is £25,000.

Campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance fumed last night: “Politicians have completely forgotten that public sector workers rely on ordinary taxpayers to fund their generous salaries, pensions and working hours.”

Six million people now work in the public sector, 650,000 more than when Labour came to power in 1997 — a rise of 13 per cent.

The private sector employs 23million. Many cushy state posts have a 37-hour maximum week, up to 31 days holiday, and £1,000 loyalty bonuses after 12 months.

Experts fear the state jobs explosion could cripple the economy as future generations of taxpayers have to fund giant pension bills.

Two years ago, Chancellor Gordon Brown vowed to cut civil servants after he imposed a 1p national insurance hike to pay for world-class schools and hospitals.

But union chiefs have strong-armed wage rises. And town halls have started to hire more pen-pushers. Public sector productivity has slumped as salaries soar with no extra efficiency.

Critics say many posts advertised are pointless.

Peter Cuthbertson, whose TaxPayers’ Alliance carried out a study of ads, said: “Taxpayers’ money is being wasted on non-jobs rather than more frontline staff such as nurses or teachers.”

Job ads included a £50,000 Director of Understanding and Enjoyment in the New Forest, a £25,000 Street Scene Outreach Officer for Enfield Council and a £26,000 Compost Development Officer in Scotland.

From George Pascoe-Watson Deputy Political Editor at The Sun