Public Sector Employment

Detailed information for third quarter 2003

Status:

Active

Frequency:

Quarterly

Record number:

1713

The objective of this program is to provide data on employment (number of employees, wages and salaries) in the public sector, i.e. the federal, provincial, territorial and local general governments, health and social service institutions, universities, colleges, vocational and trade institutions, school boards, and government business enterprises.

Data release - December 1, 2003

Description

The Public Sector Employment Program produces, each quarter, monthly employment statistics relating to the federal, provincial, territorial and local general governments, health and social service institutions, universities, colleges, vocational and trade institutions, school boards, and government business enterprises. The Public Sector Employment Program plays a key role in the estimation of the government sector output in constant dollars. The data are used as input to the National Accounts and by officials from all levels of provincial and territorial governments, the Public Service Commission, Treasury Board, the media, unions and researchers.

The information pertaining to the federal, provincial and territorial general governments complements the data collected for the purposes of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (see record number 2612).

Statistical activity

The Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) provides a conceptually integrated statistical framework for studying the state and behavior of the Canadian economy. The accounts are centered on the measurement of activities associated with the production of goods and services, the sales of goods and services in final markets, the supporting financial transactions, and the resulting wealth positions.

To produce financial statistics, the CSNA measures the economic dimensions of the public sector of Canada, including the financial inter-relationships among the thousands of entities that make up the three levels of government in Canada (federal, provincial and territorial, and local). In order to carry out this program, the CSNA maintains a universe of all public sector entities including their complex inter-relationships.

The 'Public Sector statistical program' is a component of the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA). The program measures and analyses the economic dimensions of the public sector of Canada, including the multidimensional financial interrelationships among the thousands of entities that make up the three levels of government in Canada (federal, provincial and territorial, and local). In order to carry out this program, the Public Sector Statistics Division (PSSD) maintains a universe of all public sector entities including their innumerable relationships. It also develops, maintains, and applies the Financial Management System (FMS). The FMS is an accounting standard with imbedded, standard statistical classifications unique to the public sector.

The Public Sector Statistics Division (PSSD) of Statistics Canada is responsible for Statistics Canada's statistical information related to the public sector.

Subjects

  • Economic accounts
  • Employment and remuneration
  • Government
  • Government financial statistics
  • Labour
  • Wages, salaries and other earnings

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The population consists of all institutional units controlled and mainly financed by governments (federal, provincial, territorial and local) in Canada, including their business enterprises; this population is referred as the Public Sector Universe. The Public Sector Universe includes governments (federal, provincial/territorial, local), the Canada and Quebec pension plans, the First Nations and other aboriginal governments. The Public Sector institutional units are comprised of ministries, departments, agencies, special-purpose funds and organizations; public educational institutions; and health and social service agencies of the three levels of government (federal, provincial / territorial and local). The target population does not include First Nations and Inuit administrations.

Institutional units are comparable to enterprises in the Statistics Canada hierarchical structure of business units. Institutional units are economic entities that are capable in their own right, of owning assets, incurring liabilities and engaging in economic activities and transactions with other entities. Control may take the form of full ownership of the institutional unit or a majority holding of the voting shares. A crown corporation and a government business enterprise are both controlled by government but the latter derives more than 50% of its revenue through its commercial activities. Furthermore, certain public entities are classified as government business enterprises in accordance with international convention. This is the case for the Bank of Canada.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents, extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

For the Federal, provincial and territorial general governments, most provinces offer central pay services to their constituting institutional entities. The Public Sector Employment program receives information from all central pay services. Questionnaires are sent to those institutional entities part of the target population that are not using the available central pay service.

For the Local general governments, health and social service institutions, universities, colleges, vocational and trade institutions, school boards, the estimates for these sub-sectors are derived by applying corresponding Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours industry estimates (see record no. 2612) movement to historical benchmark values. These benchmark values represent the level of the corresponding series as of December 1997.

For Federal, provincial and territorial government business enterprises, questionnaires are sent to only a few Federal, Provincial or Territorial government business enterprises. Data for most of the business enterprises is extracted from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours database.

For Local government business enterprises, movements from Public Sector Statistics Division data on Local government business enterprises revenue and expenditure are applied to historical benchmark values. These benchmark values represent the level of the corresponding series as of December 1997.

For all Government components, the wage and salary annual totals are benchmarked to the Labour Income estimates produced by the Income and Expenditure Accounts Division (see record no. 2602). This is done on an annual basis at the end of the first quarter of each year.

Error detection

The data validation stage includes examination of month over month and year over year variations in the number of employees and wages and salaries, as well as average monthly and yearly wages and salaries. Trends are examined at many levels of aggregations, such as province or institutional unit. Significant variations are investigated by telephoning the source of data, whether external or internal to Statistics Canada.

Commencing with the data for 1981, the estimates of wages and salaries are benchmarked to the wages and salaries portion of labour income published by the System of National Accounts. This makes these data more consistent with the SNA wages and salaries.

Estimation

For the employment series for the Federal, Provincial and Territorial general governments and their government business enterprises, the estimates are derived by straight summation of the collected data.

For the other public sector components (Local general governments, health and social service institutions, universities, colleges, vocational and trade institutions, school boards, and the local government business enterprises), the employment estimates are derived by applying movement displayed by selected Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours industry estimates to historical benchmark values.

For the wages and salaries estimates for the government components, annual totals are benchmarked to estimates produced by Income and Expenditures Accounts Division (see record 2602). The data collected are used for monthly movements.

The wages and salaries estimates for all levels of government business enterprises are derived by straight summation of the collected data.

Quality evaluation

The month to month estimation process uses mainly a time series consistency approach to validate the results.

Reconciliations with other sources are performed on a regular basis. Federal government data are reconciled with data based on both the universes of the Public Service Commission and the Treasury Board of the Government of Canada. The data are also compared with the Main Estimates of the government of Canada and the Public Accounts. The provincial and territorial government employment data are reconciled with the employment covered under the jurisdiction of public service acts of the various provinces and territories. Federal, provincial and territorial government business data are compared with individual annual reports. For the local general governments, health and social service institutions, universities, colleges, vocational and trade institutions, school boards, the data are reconciled with the Labour Force Survey results.

The estimates of wages and salaries are benchmarked to the wages and salaries portion of labour income published by the System of National Accounts. This makes these data more consistent with the SNA wages and salaries.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Documentation

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