Annual Head Office Survey, 2016
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Released: 2018-01-30
The number of head office employees in Canada increased by 0.1% from 2015 to 227,416 in 2016, while the number of head offices fell by 0.3% to 2,728.
Among the provinces, Alberta posted the greatest year-over-year decline in head office employment (-3.3%), with the number of employees dropping by 1,296. Head office employees in Calgary decreased by 4.7% to 1,443, as the energy sector continued to be affected by low oil prices.
The number of head office employees remains concentrated in Ontario (42.7%), Quebec (23.3%) and Alberta (16.6%), with the remainder of head office employees spread across the other provinces and territories.
Most head office employees work in census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Head office employees working in a CMA represented 83.9% of all head office employment. Within the CMAs, Toronto had the greatest number of head office employees (76,436), followed by Montréal (42,225), Calgary (29,161) and Vancouver (15,423).
Toronto also had the greatest number of head offices (697), followed by Montréal (381), Vancouver (239) and Calgary (209).
Note to readers
Data for 2015 have been revised.
Head offices include establishments and locations primarily engaged in providing general management and/or administrative support services to affiliated establishments. Their activities include corporate functions, such as strategic organizational planning, communications, tax planning, legal services, marketing, finance, human resource management and information technology services.
Contact information
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