Civil service headcount has hit a near 20-year high despite Labour vowing to crack down on numbers.
The workforce grew by 2,000 in the first three months of this year to 550,000 people, according to official figures.
That was up from 544,000 in March last year - and a peak since the middle of 2006, when Tony Blair was still in power.
However, the government insisted it was down to recruitment for 'operational' roles such as tax collectors and probation officers.
Civil service headcount bottomed out 416,000 in June 2016, the month of the EU referendum.
