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Public sector employment
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Public sector employment (comprising federal, provincial and territorial, and local governments as well as government business enterprises) reached an annual average of 3.1 million employees in 2006. Previously published estimates have been revised back to 2001 (see note below for more details).
The vast majority of these employees, nearly 2.9 million, worked in the government portion (federal, provincial and territorial, and local governments). Government employment has been increasing steadily since hitting a low of just over 2.5 million in 1999.
In 2006, the provinces and territories accounted for 51.0% of total government employment, or nearly 1.5 million. The federal government represented 13.6%, or 393,000 employees, and local governments 35.4%, or slightly over 1 million employees. These proportions have remained relatively stable over the years.
In recent years, government employment has risen at a modest pace. Between 2003 and 2006, federal government employment rose 7.4% (just under 2.5% per year), or 27,000. Provincial and territorial government employment advanced 3.7% (just over 1.2% per year), or 52,000. Local governments saw an increase of 5.0% (nearly 1.7% per year), or 49,000 during the same time period.
In 2006, just over half of all provincial and territorial employees worked for health and social service institutions. One-quarter were employed by the provincial and territorial general governments (ministries, departments, agencies and non-autonomous funds, autonomous funds and organizations), and the remainder worked for colleges and universities.
Preliminary data for the first three months of 2007 indicate that there was an average of 3.2 million employees in the public sector, up 1.7% from the first quarter of 2006.
Note: The public sector includes all economic entities controlled by government. It is comprised of four major components: federal government (ministries, departments, agencies and non-autonomous funds, and autonomous funds and organizations); provincial and territorial government (ministries, departments, agencies and non-autonomous funds, autonomous funds and organizations, universities and colleges, and health and social service institutions); local government (municipalities and non-autonomous funds, autonomous funds and organizations, and school boards); and government business enterprises (at the federal, provincial/territorial and local levels).
A variety of data sources are used to produce the public sector estimates. The federal and provincial government employment data, provided mainly by the respective government central pay services, were subject to revision for the years 2003 to 2006. Employment data for provincial education, health and social services, local government and government enterprises are provided by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH), which underwent recent partial annual revisions to its 2001 to 2006 data series. The impact on public sector employment estimates was mainly in education (universities, colleges and school boards). For more details on the SEPH revisions, please consult the release "Payroll employment, earnings and hours" published in The Daily on March 30, 2007.
Available on CANSIM: tables 183-0002 and 183-0004.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 1713.
For a more detailed description of how public sector employment is defined and reconciled with other information sources, please consult the document Reconciliation of Public Sector Employment Estimates from Multiple Information Sources at the link: 1713.
There are two tables available on CANSIM that reconcile public sector employment estimates from various information sources.
Available on CANSIM: tables 183-0021 and 183-0022.
Data tables on public sector employment are also available online in the Summary tables module of our website.
For more information or to order data, contact Client Services (613-951-0767; pid-dipinfo@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Peter Elliott (613-951-4551; peter.elliott@statcan.gc.ca), Public Institutions Division.
Table(s).
