Councils lose third of staff since 2012

COUNCILS across England and Wales have lost almost a third of their staff over the past decade, according to new research.

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A study by the GMB revealed that since 2012, almost 600,000 council jobs had gone.

The union said that 13 years ago, local authorities in England and Wales employed 1,894,700 workers, but by 2024 the number had fallen to 1,295,300.

Birmingham was the worst hit coun-cil, losing almost 27,000 workers, followed by Derbyshire and Stafford-shire, according to the study.