NHS employment (UK)

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), series G7FG. Quarterly with the ONS labour market release, about ten weeks after the reference month; the June 2026 figure was published on 15 September 2026 and the next release is 15 December 2026. The JSON 'years' array repeats the June (Q2) value, so use 'quarters' for the latest figure

NHS employment (UK): every value, by year, with a CSV download →

What it measures

This ONS series counts people employed in the NHS across all four UK nations, as part of its quarterly estimate of public sector employment. It is a headcount, so a part-time nurse and a full-time consultant each count as one, and it is seasonally adjusted. The ONS also publishes a full-time equivalent series (G7GL), which was 1.839 million in June 2026. The figures come from returns by NHS employers. For staff groups such as nurses, doctors or managers, use the workforce statistics produced by each nation's health service, which use different definitions.

How to read it

This is the broad UK figure in thousands: 2,068 means about 2.07 million people. It will not match NHS England's workforce statistics, which cover England only and count hospital and community health services staff. A rising headcount with a flat FTE means more part-time working. Quarterly changes are small relative to the total, and the ONS rounds to the nearest thousand, so changes of one or two thousand are within rounding. For the whole public sector, see public sector employment.

Background

The ONS series starts in 1999, when NHS employment was about 1.17 million (headcount, first quarter). It first passed 2 million in December 2023 (2,004,000). In its September 2026 release the ONS estimated NHS employment at 2.07 million in June 2026, unchanged on March 2026 and down 1,000 on June 2025, while total public sector employment rose to 6.21 million. The NHS is the largest single part of public sector employment in the ONS figures, ahead of local government (1.97 million).

Other parts of the UK

NHS Education for Scotland: NHS Scotland workforce statistics · Welsh Government: staff directly employed by NHS Wales · Department of Health Northern Ireland: health and social care workforce statistics · ONS: public sector employment bulletin (with regional tables)

How many people work for the NHS in the UK?

The ONS estimated NHS employment across the UK at 2.07 million people in June 2026 (headcount), or 1.84 million full-time equivalent. The figure was published on 15 September 2026 and was unchanged on the previous quarter. The page updates automatically when the ONS publishes.

How many NHS staff are there in England?

NHS England publishes monthly workforce statistics for hospital and community health services staff in England, by staff group and trust, with GP practices covered in separate General Practice workforce statistics. Those figures use a narrower definition than the ONS UK-wide series, so the two should not be added or compared directly.

Is the NHS the biggest employer in the UK?

In the ONS public sector employment statistics, the NHS is the largest single category, at 2.07 million people in June 2026 out of 6.21 million public sector employees. The ONS does not rank individual private employers, so this figure on its own cannot settle comparisons with private companies.

What is the difference between headcount and FTE for NHS staff?

Headcount counts each person once; full-time equivalent adds up hours so that two half-time staff count as one. In June 2026 the ONS headcount was 2.07 million and the FTE 1.84 million. Pledges about staff numbers should say which measure they use.

Are NHS staff civil servants?

No. In the ONS classification the NHS is a separate category of public sector employment from the Civil Service, which employed 557,000 people in June 2026. NHS staff are employed by NHS bodies such as trusts and health boards, with their own pay arrangements.

Related questions

• How many staff work for the NHS?
• How many people work in the public sector in the UK?
• How many GPs are there in England?
• How are public sector pay rises decided?
• How long is the NHS waiting list?

More on this source: UK labour market statistics (ONS, Nomis and the gender pay gap reporting service)