The Private Sector Alternative for Public Sector Job Worries

The unemployment predictions in the CIPD/KPMG quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey paint a dismal picture for public sector workers, who may find better employment opportunities jumping ship into the private sector. Other public sector workers may find working short weeks or accepting pay cuts will help them avoid staff cuts.

The survey found one in three public sector employers expected to cut their workforce in the first quarter of 2010 -- well over double the previous quarter, signalling a massive reverse in public sector employment prospects.

This compares to a modest increase of 5 per cent of private sector employment, the report found. Employment prospects in the private services sector are the most rosy, with 12 per cent expecting to take on staff.

Projected pay increases, though small are likely to be much higher in the private sector.

With a small capacity to take on extra staff, the private sector may be able to provide a safe haven for public sector workers who are able to make the cultural shift and accept losing benefits such as final salary pensions. That services companies are likely to be on the lookout for staff could play into the hands of those people who have developed their careers in public service.

Some may actually find themselves doing exactly the same job for a private employer, as the public sector sheds jobs to outsource services to private companies.

Alternatively, public sector employers may copy initiatives already proven in the private sector, by offering pay freezes or extra unpaid hours in an effort to keep the headcount. Public sector workers have a history of kicking back against erosions to established working conditions much more than their private sector counterparts, so the notions of employees sharing the pain may not work so well in the public sector.

For many public sector workers though, these options will not be available to them. Many of them will be unskilled, low-wage employees who cannot afford to take a pay cut and are not wanted by the private sector.