Public service numbers are growing, according to data from State Services Commission.

After managers, the best paid jobs in the public service are policy analysts, new figures show.

The annual work force survey by the State Services Commission suggests it was a good time to look for work in the public service in the year to June, with job numbers up 5.2 per cent, and salaries up an average 3.3 per cent, to an average $77,900.

And while average salaries vary widely depending on occupation, some positions are more lucrative than others.

In June 2018, the average salary was highest for managers ($136,300), followed by policy analysts ($99,400), ICT professionals and technicians ($93,400), legal, HR and finance professionals ($90,600) and information professionals ($84,600).

By contrast, social, health and education workers ($65,200), inspectors and regulatory officers ($62,900), clerical and administrative workers ($60,000) and contact centre workers ($52,900) had the lowest average salaries.

There was also wide variation between departments - excluding chief executives, salaries ranged from $67,800 at the Ministry of Justice, to $141,200 at the Pike River Recovery Agency.

Departments that had a higher proportion of staff in operational and service delivery jobs tended to have a lower average salary, the report concluded. These included the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Development, Department of Corrections, Department of Conservation and Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes says more work is needed on closing the gender pay gap.

The SSC, Ministry of Defence, Treasury, Ministry of Transport and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet had a higher number of people in leadership roles so paid more on average.

The 5.2 per cent increase takes the total number of public service jobs to nearly 50,000.

Some of the biggest changes reflected technology changes and shifting Government priorities - staff numbers at the Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children were up 559, while the Department of Corrections added 435 jobs and the Ministry of Justice added 392.

But some government departments shrank - Inland REvenue had 265 fewer jobs and the Ministry of Social Development was down 233. MSD and IRD are still two of the biggest government departments, however - alongside Corrections.

Wages were up by an average 3.3 per cent, taking the average annual salary among public servants to $77,900.

The SSC said other highlights included:

* Women in senior management roles continues to increase, now at 49 per cent - up from 48 per cent last year and 38 per cent in 2008. Women represent 61 per cent of public service employees, which has remained about the same since 2014. The gender pay gap continued to shrink for the third consecutive year, down from 18.6 per cent in 2000 and 12.5 per cent last year to 12.2 per cent in 2018.

* The number of public servants increased by 2478 (5.2 per cent) to 49,730 full-time equivalent employees at the end of June. "This is in part due to the Government wanting to build more capability within the Public Service", State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes said.

* The increase in public servants increased Asian and Pacific diversity. However, the ethnic pay gap is not improving, with Māori, Pacific and Asian ethnicities under-represented in the top tiers of management and over-represented in lower paid occupations.

* Public servants taking sick or domestic leave decreased slightly in 2018 to an average 8.2 days, against 8.4 days last year.

Hughes said while the survey reported the lowest gender pay gap in the Public Service since measurement began 18 years ago, the rate of decrease in the last year was the slowest since 2015.

"We need to redouble our efforts in this area and we are."