Increase in Northern Ireland Health and Social Care workforce
Date published:
New official statistics published 11/09/2025, by NISRA statisticians in the Department of Health reveal that at 30 June 2025, the Health and Social Care (HSC) Northern Ireland workforce stood at 66,939 whole-time equivalent (WTE), an increase from 30 June 2024 of 1.7% (1,130 WTE).
Whole time equivalent definition:
WTE converts part time staff into an equivalent number of whole-time staff.
Active posts definition:
The number of posts filled by permanent or temporary staff. Staff may work in one or more post, for example part-time roles in more than one location, staff group or grade.
Headcount definition:
The number of individuals working in active posts. This counts individuals only once, regardless of how many posts they hold.
Key findings
- There were 76,029 active posts in HSC in Northern Ireland, filled by 75,194 individuals.
- One third (33.3%) of the HSCNI workforce at 30 June 2025 was in the Nursing & Midwifery occupational family (22,304 WTE).
- This group comprised 18,063 WTE Registered Nursing and Midwifery staff, an increase of 2.1% (369 WTE) from 30 June 2024, and 4,241 WTE Nursing and Midwifery Support staff, a decrease of 3.0% (132 WTE) from one year ago.
- The Belfast HSC Trust had the largest workforce, with 19,130 WTE at 30 June 2025. This level is 1.1% higher than at 30 June 2024, and 0.6% higher than at 30 June 2020. All regional HSC Trusts reported an increase in WTE staff since 30 June 2020.
- At 30 June 2025, over a third (37.2%) of the HSC workforce were employed at Agenda for change pay bands 6 and above, 33.5% employed at pay bands 1-4, 21.3% employed at pay band 5 and 7.9% employed in non-Agenda for change grades.
About this publication
This bulletin presents statistics on the size of the Health and Social Care (HSC) workforce in Northern Ireland as at 30 June 2025. Statistics by Staff Group and HSC organisation are presented throughout.
Further information
For the full PDF report please visit: Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Workforce Statistics June 2025
For the HSC workforce dashboard please visit: HSC Workforce Statistics June 2025
For the publication page and associated tables please visit: Northern Ireland health and social care (HSC) workforce statistics June 2025 | Department of Health