The data we collect gives us information about the workforce regions for the Public Service and the wider public sector.

Public Service workforce by region

The largest proportion of the Public Service workforce (44.9%) is located in the Wellington region, which comprises both regional and head office-based staff. This is an increase from 44.3% in 2020. Other regions have 55.1% of the workforce, led by Auckland (20.4%), Canterbury (9.1%) and Waikato (6.7%). The share of the workforce in Wellington has been increasing each year since 2015, when it was 41.1%.

Public Service staff by region 2021(XLSX, 18 KB)

Public sector workforce by region

When we look at all central government, including education and health, the largest proportion of the workforce is in Auckland. Around 113,700 (29.6%) of 384,400 central government employees are in Auckland.

Public sector workforce headcount 2021(XLSX, 79 KB)