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Public sector employment
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Public sector employment continues to increase, although its relative importance in the total labour market continues to decline.
Public sector employment (comprising all levels of general government, universities, colleges, school boards, health and social service institutions and government business enterprises) reached 3.1 million in the second quarter, up 3.2% from the same period in 2005.
Public sector employment reached a low of just under 2.7 million on average in the third quarter of 2000. Public sector employment then grew at a modest pace of approximately 1.2% per year from 2001 to 2005.
However, employment in the public sector as a share of the total labour force fell 0.2% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter.
Within general government (federal, provincial and territorial as well as local, excluding health and educational institutions), the federal component posted the largest increase, with an estimated 403,800 employees on average in the second quarter, up 8.3% from the same quarter of 2005. This increase was partly attributable to the temporary hiring of census employees. As well, total Canadian military employment was up 2.4% from the second quarter of last year.
Provincial and territorial general government employment remained virtually unchanged at just under 350,700. Local general government had an estimated 395,900 employees, up 5.0% from the same quarter of 2005. This increase was widespread amongst most provinces and territories.
While their proportion of employment has remained stable over the past 11 years, health and social service institutions have seen their share of total public sector wages and salaries continuously increase from 18.4% to 22.7% during this period. In contrast, government business enterprises' share of total public sector wages and salaries fell from 12.2% to 9.1%. General government and educational institutions (universities and colleges, and school boards) have maintained relatively stable shares of total public sector employment and wages and salaries since 1995.
The distribution of public sector employment by component remained essentially unchanged in the second quarter. The three levels of general government (federal, provincial/territorial and local) accounted for 37.0% of total public sector employment. Educational institutions accounted for 29.7%, health and social service institutions 24.8%, and government business enterprises 8.5%.
Estimates of public sector employment and aggregate public sector wages and salaries for the second quarter of 2006 are now available. The data for the first quarter have been revised.
Data tables on public sector employment are also available online in the Summary tables module of our website.
Note: The public sector includes all economic entities controlled by government. It is comprised of four major components, as follows: 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).
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 refer to the document Reconciliation of Public Sector Employment Estimates from Multiple Information Sources by clicking on survey number 1713.
For general information or to order data, contact Joanne Rice (613-951-0767; joanne.rice@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Claude Bilodeau (613-951-1816), claude.bilodeau@statcan.gc.ca), Public Institutions Division.
Table(s).
