The latest Leading Employers meta-study for the UK, published in 2024, reveals that public sector organisations are notably represented, with one in five of the final listed organisations being publicly funded. The annual study, now in its third UK edition, aims to identify companies exhibiting comprehensive excellence as employers.
This year’s study found that educational institutions, including schools and universities, constitute 4.8% of the list, leading the way among public sector organisations. Government Agencies followed closely with 4.4%. Health Care & Hospitals and Social Services also featured prominently, ranking fourth and ninth respectively, contributing to over 16% of the list being comprised of public sector organisations in these four categories.
This pattern observed in the UK is not unique, mirroring findings from the German study published last October, which also showed a significant presence of public sector entities in Education, Public Administration, and Health & Social sectors among top-rated employers.
Lindi Utter, CEO of the Institute for Research & Data Aggregation, the body behind the study, comments: “We are not entirely surprised about this development. In volatile times employees tend to look for job security. The public sector has always been a steadfast employer, notwithstanding some obvious downsides in e.g. benefits and salary compared to the private sector. In our study we established a positive evolution of public companies on talent management and employer branding. For instance, in a sector such as Health Care & Hospitals the labour market forces public organisations to be on pace with private competitors when looking for talent.”
The Institute for Research & Data Aggregation has been identifying the top 1% of employers annually in various markets since 2017. Utter adds: “Our aim has always been to bring more transparency to the jungle of existing employer seals and certifications. With our research we want to create the most comprehensive and holistic picture of employer qualities to make the final outcome, a list of Leading Employers, as reliable as possible.”
The study also highlighted the strong performance of private sector employers in the UK, particularly in the Legal, Staffing & Sourcing, and Consulting sectors.
