Fin 2018, 80,900 people worked in the public service in Réunion, almost one in three employed people, according to the latest figures from INSEE. Among them, 9% benefited from a subsidized contract, a share six times higher than in mainland France (outside Île-de-France). Between 2011 and 2018, public employment increased twice as fast in Réunion (+1,2% annual average versus +0,5% in province). But the fall in the number of subsidized contracts from mid-2016 pushed employment down between 2016 and 2018.. Between 2011 and 2018, the territorial civil service was the main driver of the increase in public employment. Employment dynamics are also strong in the hospital public service.
With 94 agents per 1,000 inhabitants, the island is ranked 3rd among French regions with the highest administration rates. This observation is mainly linked to the territorial civil service, and its workforce is larger than elsewhere with a high number of supported jobs. In the state civil service, the administration rate is a little higher than the national average, due to the large predominance of National Education personnel : the needs are greater on the island due to the youth of the population. On the other hand, the workforce relative to the number of inhabitants is low in the hospital public service.
Public employment : nearly one in three jobs
