WHAT WAS CLAIMED
A graph shows the number of public servants in New Zealand under different governments since 2010.
OUR VERDICT
False. The figures in the graph are inaccurate.
AAP FACTCHECK - The number of public servants has not declined under successive National governments, despite a graph shared by the party that appears to show this.
The graph is inaccurate and the MP who authorised it has admitted the figures are wrong.
The graph suggests the public service workforce decreased between 2008 and 2017 under the fifth National government, whereas it actually increased.
The graph also exaggerates the decline in the number of public servants under the current National-led coalition.
On May 19, the National-led government announced it would reduce the public service workforce to one per cent of the population by 2029, equivalent to a cut of nearly 9000 jobs.
Two days later, the graph appeared on the National Party's Facebook page with the caption: "You couldn't ask for a graph that more explicitly shows the difference between spending under Labour vs National".
The headline of the graph read: "PUBLIC SERVANTS UNDER NATIONAL VS LABOUR".
It appears to show the number of public servants declined under the fifth National government, which held power between 2008 and 2017, then rose sharply under the subsequent Ardern-Hipkins Labour government, which lost office in 2023.
It also depicts an immediate drop in the number of public servants after the Luxon National coalition government took power.
The graph was reposted by numerous National MPs, including Hamish Campbell, Sam Uffindell, Paulo Garcia, Matt Doocey and Carl Bates.
However, the number of public servants did not decline during the fifth National government, and several other trends in the graph are also incorrect.
Jonathan Boston, an emeritus professor of public policy at Victoria University of Wellington, told AAP FactCheck New Zealand's Public Service Commission was the best source of public service worker data.
The PSC publishes figures on the size of the workforce for every financial year since 1913, and also the number of full-time equivalent (FTEs) staff since 1993.
A spokesperson for the Commission told AAP FactCheck the FTE measure provides a more accurate reflection of the size of the workforce than the total headcount.
PSC annual figures show 43,569 FTE workers were employed in June 2008, five months before John Key's National government was elected in November 2008.
By June 2017, three months before Bill English's National government lost power, the number of FTEs had increased by 3683 to 47,252 - an 8.5 per cent jump.
The total headcount also increased over the same period, rising from 45,934 in 2008 to 48,871 in 2017 - a 6.4 per cent increase.
The number of public servants then increased markedly under the 2017-2023 Labour government, reaching 61,097 FTEs (and a total headcount of 62,853) in 2021 at the height of the pandemic.
The number then declined in 2022, before rising to 63,117 FTEs (64,771 headcount) in June 2023.
While the graph on Facebook shows a sharp decline in the number of public servants immediately after the National Party came to power in November 2023, PSC figures show a short-term increase.
According to quarterly PSC figures, FTE staff peaked at 65,699 in December 2023, then declined to 62,654 in June 2025 before rising again in September 2025 and again in December 2025.
In 2024, acting Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott said the increase in public service workers in late 2023 reflected the "work programmes and priorities of the previous (Labour) government".
"Numbers are expected to drop in line with the [coalition] government's savings and efficiency drive and as budget 24 decisions start to flow through," RNZ quoted Ms Baggott as saying.
Professor Boston said there was "a widespread perception" in 2017 that the public service was too small, "with capability gaps in various areas".
"Some increase in the size and resourcing of the public service, if not also the wider public sector, was almost certainly inevitable," he said.
Prof Boston also noted that the Y-axis of the National Party's graph post started at 47,000, which could create a misleading impression of the shifts in the number of public service workers employed over time.
The trend in the social media graph more closely reflects the percentage of public sector workers in the total population.
Under this measure, the size of the FTE public service workforce declined under the fifth National government, from 1.04 per cent of the country's population in 2009 to 0.98 per cent in 2017, according to PSC figures.
Prof Boston said it should also be noted that the PSC figures captured only core government sector workers, and excluded employees from Crown entities, schools and hospitals.
Adding those workers would bring the total number of public-sector employees to around 400,000, with a further "50,000 or so" in local government, Prof Boston said.
The inaccurate National Party graph was authorised by the government's chief whip Stuart Smith MP, according to a note at the bottom of the graph.
A spokesperson for Mr Smith told AAP FactCheck they had "been advised that the graphic was incorrect" and said the graph would be removed from the MP's social media accounts.
At the time of writing, the graph remained on the National Party's Facebook page, and in posts by multiple National MPs.
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