Search results

This is the first report from the Human Resources in Government (HRG) Project which aims to generate information to assist Canadian government authorities at federal and provincial level in developing strategies, policies and procedures with which to transform the public service. It represents the first detailed, comparative picture of the size, function and nature of federal and provincial public services. The focus is on employment trends for the administrative core of government with some supplementary data on trends for military, education, health and social services. The study synthesises data from a variety of Statistics Canada sources, the federal government and the provincial governments of Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Ontario, to provide a comprehensive picture of public sector employment trends. The report compares several aspects of government employment such as employment equity and occupational structure. The results reveal extensive changes within all governments with similarities between jurisdictions in how change has manifested, particularly in the areas of downsizing, ageing, occupational restructuring and gender composition. Consistent trends towards more information workers, professionals and administrators, and fewer staff in clerical occupations, are apparent. This study provides the context for the HRG study series which will analyse the impacts of these changes and the implications for the regeneration of government workforces.