Almost 7,000 jobs have been axed by councils in England in the last six months

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The Local Government Association said its research revealed that three in five local authorities had made staff reductions since the end of last year and a similar number were planning to axe posts in the next 12 months.

Cuts have been made across the board, with senior and middle management affected as well as frontline workers as councils make “tough decisions” to balance their budgets and keep council tax down.

The study showed that almost half of the councils which have made cuts say that senior management posts have been axed.

Nine out of 10 councils in London have axed jobs and eight in 10 will do so in the next 12 months.

Job cuts are mostly being made from a mixture of voluntary redundancies, compulsory redundancies and posts not being replaced.

Council employers have formally tabled a pay offer of 0.5% for this financial year to local government unions and have warned that a higher pay rise would lead to councils laying off even more staff.

The LGA said councils were being hit hard by the recession and expected income to drop by £2.5 billion this financial year.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, vice chairman of the LGA, said: “Just as the private sector is having to cut back during tough times, so too are councils faced with incredibly difficult decisions.

“It is a highly unpleasant decision for any council to cut jobs but they also understand that local people are suffering because of the recession.

“As the recession continues to bite hard, we fully expect councils to keep on cutting jobs over the course of the next 12 months. Councils are having to tighten their belts in exactly the same way as hard-pressed families.

“Town halls are being forced to look at almost every aspect of their spending. A large number of councils are cutting posts in middle and senior management.

“We would expect councils to make efficiency savings before cuts and they will be trying to protect posts that provide effective management.

“It is particularly regrettable to have to cut frontline staff, but this demonstrates the bleak financial situation that councils are in.

“Where cuts to some frontline staff are made, councils are doing all they can to ensure that vital local services stay in place for people being affected by the recession.

“Councils are being hit by a perfect storm caused by the recession. Income is dropping away fast at a time when more and more people are turning to councils to help them through tough times.

“It is vital that this year’s pay settlement is affordable to the taxpayer and councils while at the same time making sure that local government continues to be an attractive place to work.

“If the pay settlement is set too high then local authorities will have no choice but to lay off staff, which neither the unions nor the employers want to see.”

A spokesman for Unison said: “It’s appalling that local government workers, who have contributed billions of pounds in efficiency savings over the past few years, should be threatened with the dole.

“This is typical employer scaremongering to try to justify a paltry 0.5% (3p an hour) pay offer. The majority of local councils have budgeted for 2.2% to 2.5% for this year’s pay rise but want to get away with paying pennies.”