Who Enters the Public Sector?

Is the public sector losing the most educated to finance, tech, and consulting? Does it act as a Keynesian employment insurer to the less educated? The data constraints behind the limited evidence on this have recently been overcome for England. The probability of entering the public sector rises with education, and this paper documents that this educational gradient has strengthened. Relative to just before the financial crisis, the public sector became a less common workplace for individuals entering the labour market with low levels of education. At the same time, it became a more common destination for the most educated, whether defined by highest qualification, university rank, or final grade. Graduates from top universities do show increased entry into finance, the tech sector, and the consulting industry, but also show-despite a substantial deterioration of pay differentials-an increasing preference for the public sector as an entry-workplace. A decomposition of the trends by graduate discipline and destination industry points to UK-specific policy explanations.