THE States’ workforce fell by 61 people over the last year, yielding savings of between £2m and £3m as the trend for a growing public sector was finally reversed.

Every department except Education, Sport and Culture lost staff over the 12 months leading up to June, with the biggest losses coming in Health and Social Services, Environment and Public Services and Home Affairs.

It is the first time since records began in 1996 that a drop has been recorded.

The Public Sector Manpower Report measures the size of the States’ workforce in full-time equivalents (FTEs), including seasonal and contract posts, and Finance president Senator Terry Le Sueur said that if the jobs followed average States wages, this year’s losses would probably save the government £2m or £3m.

‘I think we are turning the corner,’ said the Senator.

‘Government is doing things better, simpler, and more efficiently, and it is starting to bite.’