Provincial and Territorial Government Employment and Payroll Survey

Detailed information for December 2005

This survey collects data from provincial and territorial administrations in Canada. The data are used by Statistics Canada as input to the System of National Accounts and by officials from all levels of provincial and territorial governments, the Public Service Commission, the media, unions and researchers.

Data release - February 27, 2006

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey collects data from provincial and territorial administrations in Canada. The data are used by Statistics Canada as input to the System of National Accounts and by officials from all levels of provincial and territorial governments, the Public Service Commission, the media, unions and researchers. The information is used for comparison studies of public sector expenditures and financial resources in the public administrations and between the provinces as well as the territories. The survey is conducted monthly, but released quarterly in the Daily as "Public Service Employment".

Subjects

• Government

Data sources and methodology

Sampling

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

This methodology does not apply.

Estimation

Occasional non-response requires estimation on the basis of previous data or data from other sources.

Quality evaluation

Procedures - (1) data for the last pay period are transmitted to Public Institutions Division; (2) data for the entire month are assembled to produce total numbers and earnings for each province and territory. Data compilation is broken down by (a) government, further broken down by (i) departments, special funds, institutions, (ii) functions; (b) general government and enterprise by SIC and NAICS major group.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. 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.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Data accuracy

Response rate of 100% (normal) and availability of estimates and public accounts for cross-checking ensures very high quality.