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The quality of policymaking and public service delivery has arguably worsened across Australia, despite the growth in public sector employment at both the federal and state levels.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released data on the public sector showing that the total number of public sector jobs rose by 2.3% between June 2025 and June 2026, an increase of 60,300.
Public sector jobs increased across all levels of government, but the increase was most pronounced across state governments:
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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