Warning message

Please note that this page is from our archives. There may be more up-to-date content about this topic on our website. Use our search engine to find out.

Statistics Canada figures for the second quarter of 2005 show that more people were employed by the public sector than in nearly a decade.

According to data released this week by StatsCan, there were just over 3.0 million public sector employees between April and June 2005, the most since the fourth quarter of 1994.

Public sector employment reached a low of just under 2.7 million in the third quarter of 1999. Since then, public jobs have grown at an accelerated pace. In 2003, employment rose at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent. However, in 2004, the pace of growth slowed to 0.9 per cent.

Employment in the second quarter of 2005 was 0.8 per cent higher than in the same three months of 2004.

The federal government had an estimated 373,728 employees in the second quarter, up 0.6 per cent from the same quarter last year. Provincial and territorial government jobs remained virtually unchanged at just under 351,000.

The three levels of general government (federal, provincial/territorial and local) accounted for 36 per cent of total public sector employment. Educational institutions accounted for 30 per cent, health and social service institutions 25 per cent, and government business enterprises 9 per cent.

Go to www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050824/td050824.htm to view the report.