The debate over NHS staffing continues after independent data showed there had been a cut in posts, but more doctors and nurses were working full-time.
The NHS Information Centre has estimated that 17,000 posts have been lost in the year up to September 2006.
But among nurses and doctors there was actually an increase in capacity as more staff were working full-time.
Ministers said it showed the NHS was strengthening frontline staffing, but critics said cuts were hitting hard.
Jobs cuts has been at the centre of controversy in recent months, with unions and opposition parties estimating thousands of posts have gone as the health service struggles with deficits.
"Staff across the NHS feel badly let down and threatened by the impact of lost jobs and financial deficits"
The government has denied the picture has been so bleak, pointing out while posts have been closed, compulsory redundancies have been kept to about 1,500.
The latest figures, which the NHS Information Centre said was a "best estimate", has given weight to both sides of the argument.
Only last month, the Royal College of Nursing claimed 22,000 posts have gone in the last 18 months, reasonably in-line with the 17,000 figure over 12 months.
Most of the posts lost were in administration, managerial and health support positions.
The government called this a small fall in headcount as the NHS employs over 1m staff and staffing levels have still increased by nearly 280,000 since Labour came to power.
It also said deeper analysis of the figures showed that the number of full-time equivalents for doctors and nurses had risen by 4,844 and 665 respectively.
'Skill mix'
This has been achieved by more staff working full-time, even though the nurses headcount has dropped by nearly 2,500.
Health Minister Lord Hunt said: "These figures show that the NHS focus is not on stregthening front-line clinical capacity, through increases in productivity and skill mix.
But shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Staff across the NHS feel badly let down and threatened by the impact of lost jobs and financial deficits."
Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: "Government spinning and denial cannot conceal the fact that frontline medical jobs have been lost as a direct result of this government's appalling mismanagement of the NHS."
And Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said the figures confirmed fears deficits were having a damaging impact.
"When you dig below the surface... the headline increase in nurse numbers is partly made up of double counting some existing nurses working extra shifts."
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