Local authorities have suffered the worst of the public sector job losses over the last year, according to a study by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

On the anniversary of the coalition's brutal 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review, PwC analysis of the impact of the £81bn spending cuts programme showed councils lost 145,000 jobs in the year to April-June - from a total of 240,000 public sector job losses in that time.

‘The public sector job losses have come much faster than anticipated,' Paul Cleal, PwC's head of public sector told the BBC. He added that the challenge for the Government was how ‘to do different things and mitigate the impact of further cuts in spending on services'.

Public sector morale has declined significantly following the job losses, as separate study by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark indicates.

The survey revealed 37.8% of staff claim morale has noticeably dropped following the job losses and keeping morale up has been the biggest challenge for 51% of all public sector workers over the past 12 months.

Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: ‘Government cuts are hitting hard and fast - gambling with the lives of millions of families, as well as the economic recovery. It makes no sense to add more public sector workers to already growing dole queues. The job cuts will hit local communities as vital services are withdrawn or stripped back to the bone.'

‘Job cuts and insecurity are already piling misery on low paid public sector workers, who are struggling to cope with record inflation, pay freezes and damaging changes to their pensions.' 

PwC chief economist John Hawksworth, told the BBC the speed of the public sector job cuts may have contributed to the UK's slower-than expected economic growth. He added however the Government's ‘tough fiscal stance has helped to keep the UK cost of borrowing very low'.