MORE than 1,690 public sector jobs have been lost in South Tyneside because of cuts since the 2010 general election alone, latest figures revealed today.
GMB union officials say local councils in the North East are bearing the brunt of large job losses, since out of the 43,000 jobs lost, 24,800 are from local government in the region, which is a considerably higher number than original estimates.
And the GMB has warned of more job losses to come as health authorities and councils continue to face significant new budget challenges.
The number of employees across all the public sector in the North East has fallen from 297,000 in 2010 to 254,000 in 2012.
This is a decrease of 43,000, or -14.5 per cent since the 2010 general election.
And the number of employees in local authorities in the North East dropped from 129,700 to 104,900, representing a fall of 24,800, or -19.1 per cent since 2010.
The fall in the number of employees in Gateshead Council (5,791) is the highest for a local authority in Tyne and Wear, followed by Newcastle upon Tyne (3,533), South Tyneside, (1,693) and Sunderland (1,643).
Tom Brennan, GMB regional secretary, said: “The scale of the fall in public sector employees so far now outstrips the last two recessions in 1982-87 and 1992-97 to stand at a shocking 43,000 in this region.
“Of this, a huge number are from priority services like health, social services education and the police.
“24,800 of the fall in the number of employees are from local government in the region, which is a considerably higher number than original estimates, and there is still more to come as health authorities and councils are facing significant new budget challenges next year.”
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