Public sector employment

Public sector employment on a seasonally adjusted basis declined 0.2% from the first quarter to 3.6 million in the second quarter. This decline offset a slight gain in the previous quarter.

The quarter-to-quarter decline was primarily concentrated in the provincial and territorial general government sector (-0.9%). Employment also fell in school boards (-0.3%) and in government business enterprises (-0.2%).

Federal general government employment edged down 0.1%, while employment remained unchanged in the health and social service institutions.

Employment rose by 0.7% in universities and colleges, and by 0.6% in local general government sectors. These increases continued an upward trend.

Public sector employees represented 20.3% of total employment in Canada in the second quarter, down from 20.5% in the first quarter. This decline was attributable to growth in private sector employment during this period. It was the second consecutive quarterly decrease, reversing an upward trend that started in 2007.

Between the second quarter of 2009 and second quarter of 2010, total public sector wages and salaries rose 0.3%.

Note: The public sector includes all economic entities controlled by government, and comprises four major components: the three levels of government (federal, provincial and territorial and local) and each has a general government component comprising ministries, departments, agencies and non-autonomous funds, autonomous funds and organizations, and non-autonomous pension plans; provincial and territorial government also includes universities and colleges, and health and social service institutions; local government also includes school boards; and, the fourth component government business enterprises, which are institutional units controlled by government but that operate on an autonomous basis as commercial corporations in the marketplace.

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, refer to the document entitled Reconciliation of Public Sector Employment Estimates from Multiple Information Sources by clicking on survey number 1713.

Available on CANSIM: tables 183-0021 and 183-0022.

Data tables on public sector employment are also available in the National economic accounts module of our website.

For more information, or to order data, contact Client Services (613-951-0767; pssd-info-dssp@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Alain Baril (613-951-4131; alain.baril@statcan.gc.ca), Public Sector Statistics Division.