Analysis of the data as at 6^th December 2024

This report presents data on the whole time equivalent (WTE) number of social workers and social work vacancies in local authority social work services in December 2024. It is the fourth of our half-yearly reports on practising social workers (that is, main grade social workers and senior social workers). The last report was published in November last year with data from June 2024. That report can be downloaded from

This fouth report presents data from all 32 local authorities. Key findings from the report are set out below:

• Compared to December 2020, the December 2024 survey shows a 10.9% increase in the WTE of practising social workers.

• The vacancy rate fell from 9.3% in June 2024 to 8.2% in December 2024. However, only 23 authorities provided any response to the vacancy question in December compared to 29 in June 2024.

• During that period the WTE of senior social workers increased faster than main grade WTE, particularly in children and adult teams.

• Compared to June 2024 the data collected in the December 2024 survey shows a 2.4% decrease in the WTE of practising social workers.

• Between June and December 2024, the WTE of children and justice social workers decreased.

• Vacancy rates are higher for main grade posts than senior posts.

• A large variation in vacancy rates can be seen across local authorities in December 2024 ranging from 0.0% to 26.2%.

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If you have any enquiries about the report please contact:

Matthew Taylor

Intelligence Analyst

Workforce Intelligence Team

Scottish Social Services Council

Compass House

11 Riverside Drive

Dundee DD1 4NY

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.