High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Thursday, September 15, 2011
Social Workers Posts and Vacancies
In October 2010, there were 5,201 WTE qualified social workers, a fall of 0.6% compared with October 2009.
It is estimated that 4.8% of all social worker posts were vacant as at October 2010, compared with 6.8% in October 2009.
Note: In 2006, different counting methodology used to eliminate double counting of staff covering for absent staff. Therefore 2006 figures are not comparable with previous years.
Staff numbers may fluctuate over time as a result of various factors, including changes in the way services are provided and changes in the numbers of vacancies. Please refer to Background Notes for further information.
Source: Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2010
Note: Percent vacancies = vacancies as a percentage of the staff complement - i.e. relevant WTE+vacancies.
In 2006, different counting methodology used to eliminate double counting of staff covering for absent staff. Therefore 2006 figures are not comparable with previous years.
For the 2010 publication, the overall vacancy rate for Scotland has been estimated based only on those local authorities who were able to provide vacancy information. In order to enable a comparison with the previous year, the 2009 figure has been re-calculated on the same basis. This re-calculation revised the overall vacancy rate for social workers from 5.8 percent to 6.8 percent. Therefore, figures published for years prior to 2009 are not directly comparable with these figures.
Source: Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2010
Further Information