Civil servant roles are likely to bear the brunt of public sector job cuts, according to Chris Williamson, an economist at Markit.

Office for National Statistics’ provisional estimates of the public finances show that in September 2009 the public sector has:

• a current budget deficit of £11.3bn

• net borrowing of £14.8bn

• net debt was £824.8bn, equivalent to 59% of GDP

• net debt excluding financial sector interventions was £682.8bn, equivalent to 48.9% of GDP

Williamson told Recruiter that while the figures came in line with what the government expects its borrowing to be for the full year, it serves a reminder that this debt is mounting.

“In the lead up to the election, the parties will be talking about where these cuts are going to be. There is a general acceptance that there will need to be cuts.

“A big correction is probably on the cards next year. There does seem to be a recognition that there are layers of fat in consultancy, managerial and admin roles, so I think these will be the roles that are going to be cut. These are the likely roles, as opposed to general workers, nurses and teachers which certainly won’t be vote winners.”

John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institue of Personnel and Development (CIPD), adds: “There will be more jobs to go from local authorities. You will see lots of back office jobs going from central government departments and that will accelerate depending on how quickly and how big the squeeze is.”