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The Daily. Wednesday, March 21, 2001
An average of 2.9 million people were employed in the public sector during the fourth quarter of 2000, up 0.7%, or 19,400 workers, from the fourth quarter of 1999.
The majority of this increase, about 17,600 employees, occurred in the government workforce, which consists of individuals who work for the federal, provincial/territorial and local governments. Together, those governments employed 2.6 million people in the fourth quarter, up 0.7% from the fourth quarter of 1999. The remainder were employed by government business enterprises.
The strongest growth occurred in the federal government, which employed 338,000 people, a 3.1% increase or 10,200 more than in the fourth quarter of 1999. Gains in federal general government employment in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia accounted for most of the increase.
The provincial and territorial governments had a registered workforce of 1.3 million people, up 0.8% or just over 10,200. This increase came essentially from employment in health and social services in Ontario and Alberta, as well as from post-secondary education in Alberta.
Local governments recorded the only decline in the fourth quarter. Their workforce fell 0.3% to 910,000 employees, a drop of 2,800 jobs compared with the fourth quarter of 1999. Municipal general administrations in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia were mostly responsible for this marginal setback.
Government business enterprises employed an average of 270,000 people in the fourth quarter, up 0.7% or 1,800 employees more than in fourth quarter of 1999. This increase came from the provincial and territorial crown corporations, particularly in New Brunswick's utility industries and in Ontario's amusement and recreational industries.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 2720, 2860, 2863, 2864 and 2866.
Other public sector employment and wages and salaries data on a monthly time base are also available on CANSIM. For general information on the Public Institutions Division's products and services, or to obtain custom tabulations, contact Jo-Anne Thibault, (613-951-0767; fax: 613-951-0661; jo-anne.thibault@statcan.gc.ca), Public Institutions Division.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Alain Paquet (613-951-8565; paquala@statcan.gc.ca), Public Institutions Division.
Public sector employment
Fourth quarter 2000 (preliminary)
| Federal government | Provincial and territorial governments | Local governments | Total government | Government business enterprises | Total public sector(1) | Fourth quarter 1999 to fourth quarter 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % change | |||||||
| Canada | 337,944 | 1,331,216 | 912,417 | 2,581,577 | 269,036 | 2,850,614 | 0.7 |
| Newfoundland | 6,861 | 31,526 | 13,480 | 51,868 | 3,587 | 55,455 | -1.6 |
| Prince Edward Island | 3,337 | 8,807 | 2,733 | 14,877 | 430 | 15,307 | 1.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 22,770 | 46,662 | 25,693 | 95,124 | 6,344 | 101,468 | -0.4 |
| New Brunswick | 13,485 | 53,870 | 6,505 | 73,860 | 7,184 | 81,045 | 1.2 |
| Quebec | 67,681 | 376,327 | 200,732 | 644,740 | 66,025 | 710,766 | -0.7 |
| Ontario | 135,398 | 371,311 | 372,337 | 879,045 | 109,129 | 988,174 | 1.4 |
| Manitoba | 15,287 | 66,356 | 40,862 | 122,505 | 13,635 | 136,140 | 1.5 |
| Saskatchewan | 9,285 | 55,572 | 38,570 | 103,427 | 13,276 | 116,703 | 1.0 |
| Alberta | 24,610 | 134,085 | 94,804 | 253,499 | 15,950 | 269,449 | 1.7 |
| British Columbia | 34,153 | 174,336 | 112,766 | 321,255 | 32,840 | 354,095 | 0.3 |
| Yukon | 790 | 3,615 | 316 | 4,721 | x | 4,721 | -0.3 |
| Northwest Territories | 995 | 4,581 | 1,932 | 7,508 | x | 7,508 | 4.3 |
| Nunavut | 149 | 4,168 | 1,687 | 6,005 | x | 6,005 | 41.3 |
| Exterior | 3,142 | 0 | 0 | 3,142 | x | 3,142 | 3.0 |
| x | Confidential data. |
| 1 | To preserve confidentiality, data for the territories and exterior of Canada exclude government public enterprises. |
| Note: | Federal government includes the military. Provincial and territorial governments includes general government, universities and colleges and health and social services institutions. Local government includes general government and school boards. Canada total may differ from the sum of provinces/territories because of number rounding. |