The Community and Public Sector Union has slammed the revelation that the Australian Public Service has jettisoned 8000 jobs in just one year, with the union’s National Secretary, Nadine Flood, branding the figure as the biggest jobs bloodbath in 15 years.

The huge job loss number was laid bare in the annual Australian Public Service Commission’s annual statistical bulletin, which also revealed that resignations in the APS have sunk to a 15-year-low as bureaucrats stuck around for payouts.

“The loss of 8000 jobs is massive,” said Ms Flood. “It’s the largest loss of federal public sector jobs in over a decade and yet [Public Service Minister] Eric Abetz calls it ‘moderate and reasonable’. I’d hate to see his version of extreme.”

The rapid level of job shedding has already cast a pall over the National Capital’s once exuberant property market with For Lease signs becoming increasingly prominent fixtures as landlords try to fill vacancies spurred on by cuts.

Adding to that misery is an apparently increasing supply of strata stock about to, or now hitting the residential market as renters without family ties to the national capital up stumps.

The CPSU is also driving home the economic impact of the scale of the cuts

“The Government can try and spin it any way they like but the reality is that the public service is getting hit hard,” Ms Flood said. “These figures confirm that. You can’t lose that many staff and not hurt services.”

Ms Flood also hit out at the logistical consequences of APS cuts in sensitive areas.

“If you are experiencing frustration at delays at a Centrelink office or dealing with Customs at the airport, then there is no one to blame but Tony Abbott and his cuts.”

“So if you are experiencing frustration at delays at a Centrelink office or dealing with Customs at the airport, then there is no one to blame but Tony Abbott and his cuts. These figures confirm that Tony Abbott has broken his promise that public service job losses would only happen through natural attrition, Ms Flood said.

“For the first time in 15 years the number of people made redundant is greater than the number of people who have resigned. Thousands of jobs have been cut and vital experience has been lost.”