Demographic Snapshot of Canada’s Public Service, 2024

Number of employees

• 367,772 active employees (282,980 in 2010)
• Represents 0.90% of the Canadian population (0.83% in 2010)

Location of work

• 57.7% of employees are in the regions^{Footnote 1} (59.4% in 2010)
• 42.3% of employees are in the National Capital Region (40.6% in 2010)

Employment type

• 82.7% are indeterminate employees (86.2% in 2010)
• 12.9% are term employees (9.1% in 2010)
• 4.4% are casuals and students (4.7% in 2010)

Women^{Footnote 2}

• 56.8% of employees are women (55.2% in 2010)
• 54.4% of executives are women (43.8% in 2010)

Official languages^{Footnote 3}

• 71.8% of employees indicated English as their first official language (71.0% in 2010)
• 28.2% of employees indicated French as their first official language (29.0% in 2010)

Age^{Footnote 4}

• The average age of employees is 43.4 years (43.9 years in 2010)
• The average age of executives is 50.1 years (50.1 years in 2010)

Relative size and spending

Between 2010 and 2024:

• the population of Canada grew from approximately 33.9 million to 41.0 million (an increase of 21.1%)^{Footnote 5}
• the number of federal public servants increased from 282,980 to 367,772 (an increase of 30.0%)^{Footnote 6}

The federal public service comprised 0.90% of the Canadian population in 2024. Over the last 10 years, the size of the federal public service in relation to the Canadian population fluctuated, but it now represents a greater proportion of the Canadian population than in 2010, when it represented 0.83%.

Between 2010 and 2024:

• Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 31.3%^{Footnote 7}
• real federal program expenses increased by 34.5% (in chained dollars)^{Footnote 8}

Most recently, from 2023 to 2024, there was:

• an increase of 1.2% in real GDP
• an increase of 1.9% in real federal program expenses

Since the 2010 to 2015 period, where the workforce decreased in response to budget reductions, there has been an increase in the federal public service workforce. Since the previous year, the workforce increased by 2.9%.

Figure 1 shows trends in the economy, the Canadian population, real federal program expenses and the size of the federal public service, from 2010 to 2024.

Figure 1 - Text version

Year	Canadian population indexFootnote 1	Federal public service workforce indexFootnote 2	Real GDP index, in chained dollars (2017)Footnote 3	Real program expenses indexFootnote 4
2010	100	100	100	100
2011	101	100	103	95
2012	102	98	105	94
2013	103	93	107	94
2014	104	91	111	93
2015	105	91	111	95
2016	106	92	112	101
2017	107	93	116	104
2018	109	97	119	108
2019	110	102	122	112
2020	112	106	107	122
2021	113	113	121	200
2022	114	119	128	140
2023	117	126	130	132
2024	121	130	131	135

Diversity in the federal public service

Sex

As shown in Figure 2, in 2024, women made up 56.8% of the federal public service, a 1.6 percentage point increase from 2010.

Figure 2 - Text version

Sex	2010	2015	2020	2024
Men	44.8%	45.0%	44.6%	43.2%
Women	55.2%	55.0%	55.4%	56.8%

Source: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Technical notes

Population: Includes all employment tenures and active employees only (employees on leave without pay are excluded).

The information provided excludes employees whose sex is unknown and is based on data as of March 31.

Employment equity designated groups

Representation

Figure 3 shows that there have been increases in the representation levels of all four employment equity designated groups in the core public administration since 2020.

The representation rate for women was slightly higher than the previous year, while the representation rate of persons with disabilities increased from 6.9% in 2023 to 7.9% in 2024. As well, representation rates for members of visible minorities increased for the last five consecutive years, from 17.8% in 2020 to 22.9% in 2024. However, the representation rate of Indigenous Peoples in the core public administration remained relatively stable over the last five years.

Overall, representation of the employment equity groups (women, Indigenous Peoples and members of visible minorities) continue to exceed their respective workforce availability (WFA) estimates^{Footnote 9} with the exception of persons with disabilities.^{Footnote 10}

Figure 3 - Text version

Employment equity designated group	2020	2021	WFA for 2020 and 2021	2022	WFA for 2022	2023	WFA for 2023	2024	WFA for 2024
Women	55.0%	55.6%	52.7%	56.0%	53.3%	56.6%	53.7%	56.9%	55.3%
Indigenous Peoples	5.1%	5.2%	4.0%	5.2%	3.8%	5.3%	3.8%	5.3%	4.1%
Persons with disabilities	5.2%	5.6%	9.0%	6.2%	9.1%	6.9%	9.2%	7.9%	12.0%
Members of visible minorities (racialized employees)	17.8%	18.9%	15.3%	20.2%	17.2%	21.7%	17.3%	22.9%	22.7%

Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat pay system as of March 31 of each year and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Employment Equity Data Bank.

Population: The information provided includes indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees of organizations captured under the Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV (core public administration). Excluded from this information are employees on leave without pay, terms of less than three months, students and casual workers, Governor in Council appointees, ministers’ exempt staff, federal judges, and deputy ministers.

The data in this table covers employees identified for the purpose of employment equity in the regulations to the Employment Equity Act.

Technical notes

Internal representation for Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities is based on those who have voluntarily chosen to self-identify in one of the respective employment equity groups, while sex information is taken from the pay system.

WFA estimates for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are based on information from the 2016 Census of Canada and the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. WFA estimates for 2024 are based on information from the 2021 Census of Canada and the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability.

WFA estimates include Canadian citizens and, starting in 2022, permanent residents.

WFA estimates are based on occupations in the Canadian workforce that correspond to occupations in the core public administration as of March 31 of each year (except for March 2020 and March 2021, which is based on the March 2019 population).

Hiring

Figure 4 shows that the proportion of new hires for indeterminate and term positions of three months or more remains above or equal to the current WFA estimates of all employment equity designated groups except for persons with disabilities, which remains below the group’s current WFA.

Figure 4 - Text version

Employment equity designated group	2019–20	2020–21	WFA for 2019–20 and 2020–21	2021–22	WFA for 2021–22	2022–23	WFA for 2022–23	2023–24	WFA for 2023–24
Women	58.3%	60.2%	52.7%	60.1%	53.3%	61.1%	53.7%	60.4%	55.3%
Indigenous Peoples	4.0%	3.8%	4.0%	4.2%	3.8%	4.4%	3.8%	4.3%	4.1%
Persons with disabilities	3.9%	4.3%	9.0%	5.5%	9.1%	6.9%	9.2%	8.2%	12.0%
Members of visible minorities (racialized employees)	21.3%	21.2%	15.3%	23.2%	17.2%	26.9%	17.3%	26.8%	22.7%

Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat pay system, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Employment Equity Data Bank and the Public Service Commission of Canada’s files on hiring and staffing activities.

Population: The information provided includes indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees of organizations captured under the Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV (core public administration).

Technical notes

Internal representation for Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities is based on those who have voluntarily chosen to self-identify in one of the respective employment equity groups, while sex information is taken from the pay system.

“Employees hired” refers to employees who were added to the public service of Canada payroll between April 1 and March 31 of each given fiscal year.

Percentages are that designated group’s share of all hires.

WFA estimates for fiscal years 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 are based on information from the 2016 Census of Canada and the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. WFA estimates for fiscal year 2023–24 are based on information from the 2021 Census of Canada and the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability.

WFA estimates include only Canadian citizens and, starting in 2022, permanent residents.

WFA estimates are based on occupations in the Canadian workforce that correspond to occupations in the core public administration as of March 31 of each fiscal year (except for the WFA for fiscal years 2019–20 and 2020–21, which is based on the March 2019 population).

First official language

As shown in Figure 5, the breakdown of federal public servants by first official language is consistent across the years. In 2024, 71.8% of federal public servants’ first official language was English, while 28.2% was French.

Figure 5 - Text version

First official language	2010	2015	2020	2024
English	71.0%	71.3%	70.9%	71.8%
French	29.0%	28.7%	29.1%	28.2%

Source: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Technical notes

Population: Includes all employment tenures and active employees only (employees on leave without pay are excluded).

The information provided excludes employees whose first official language is unknown and is based on data as of March 31.

Age of federal public servants

Figure 6 compares the breakdown of federal public servants in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024 by age. From 2010 to 2024, the age breakdown changed slightly, with:

• a decrease in the proportion of employees under 20 years of age and aged 45 to 59 years
• an increase in the proportion of employees aged 20 to 44 years and those above the age of 60 years

The average age of federal public servants increased slightly between 2010 and 2015 (from 43.9 years in 2010 to 45.0 years in 2015) and then decreased between 2015 and 2024 from 45.0 years in 2015 to 43.4 years in 2024.

Figure 6 - Text version

Age band	2010	2015	2020	2024
Under 20 years	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.2%
20 to 24 years	4.2%	3.2%	5.4%	4.6%
25 to 29 years	8.9%	6.6%	9.2%	10.7%
30 to 34 years	11.4%	10.7%	10.0%	12.2%
35 to 39 years	12.0%	13.7%	12.8%	12.7%
40 to 44 years	13.2%	14.1%	14.7%	14.5%
45 to 49 years	16.4%	14.7%	14.1%	14.3%
50 to 54 years	16.7%	17.2%	13.5%	12.6%
55 to 59 years	11.1%	12.2%	11.8%	9.8%
60 to 64 years	4.4%	5.4%	5.7%	5.7%
65 years and over	1.3%	2.0%	2.4%	2.7%

Figure 7 shows the distribution of federal public servants by generation for 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024. Up until 2015, baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1966) made up the largest group of federal public servants. However, they are being replaced by Generation Xers (people born between 1967 and 1979) and millennials (people born between 1980 and 2000). Millennials now represent the largest group of public servants (50.1%) followed by Generation Xers (33.9%).

Figure 7 - Text version

Generation	2010	2015	2020	2024
Baby boomers	53.2%	41.8%	24.6%	13.5%
Generation X	31.2%	36.5%	36.8%	33.9%
Millennials	13.9%	21.2%	38.4%	50.1%
Other	1.7%	0.5%	0.2%	2.5%

Hiring into the core public administration

Figure 8 shows new indeterminate hiring in the core public administration over time. Indeterminate hiring has been on the rise since the 2013–14 fiscal year. There was a decline in indeterminate hires in the 2020–21 fiscal year; however, hiring increased in following two fiscal years before declining again in the 2023–24 fiscal year. New indeterminate hiring in the core public administration decreased by 15.1%, from 25,125 in the 2022–23 fiscal year to 21,338 in the 2023–24 fiscal year.

Figure 8 - Text version

Generation	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24
Millennials	2,060	3,274	4,168	6,712	9,169	12,381	13,127	11,247	15,532	18,451	15,265
Other	2,255	2,819	3,530	4,373	5,580	6,864	6,206	5,281	6,393	6,674	6,073
Total	4,315	6,093	7,698	11,085	14,749	19,245	19,333	16,528	21,925	25,125	21,338

New indeterminate hiring is important for increasing diversity in the public service and equipping the next generation of federal public servants. In fiscal year 2023–24, over 70% of new indeterminate employees hired were millennials. However, the proportion of new indeterminate hires who are millennials decreased from 73.4% in the 2022–23 fiscal year to 71.5% in the 2023–24 fiscal year. During this same period:

• the proportion of new indeterminate hires from the baby boomer generation increased from 4.7% to 5.4%
• the proportion of hires who are Generation Xers decreased from 20.7% to 19.5%^{Footnote 11}

Figure 9 shows the entire age distribution of new indeterminate hires in the core public administration. The median age was 34.3 years.

Figure 9 - Text version

Age band	Proportion of new indeterminate CPA hires
Under 20 years	0.4%
20 to 24 years	11.9%
25 to 29 years	22.3%
30 to 34 years	17.7%
35 to 39 years	13.7%
40 to 44 years	11.6%
45 to 49 years	8.7%
50 to 54 years	6.7%
55 to 59 years	3.8%
60 to 64 years	2.2%
65 years and over	1.0%

Departures from the federal public service

Retirements accounted for 62.8% of departures, while resignations accounted for 18.8% in the 2023–24 fiscal year.

Since fiscal year 2013–14, when the number of departures from the federal public service was higher in response to budget reductions, there has been a steady decrease in the number of departures from the federal public service workforce up until the 2020–21 fiscal year. Between the 2020–21 fiscal year and the 2022–23 fiscal year, the number of departures increased. However, between the last two fiscal years, the number of departures decreased by 3.9%.

As shown in Figure 10, in the 2023–24 fiscal year, the federal public service departure rates for retirements, resignations, all other specified reasons and unspecified reasons were 2.5%, 0.8%, 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. The overall departure rate for the federal public service was 4.0%.

Figure 10 - Text version

Departure type	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24
Retirements	3.1%	3.2%	3.6%	3.4%	3.4%	3.3%	3.1%	2.6%	3.3%	2.9%	2.5%
Resignations	0.9%	0.9%	1.0%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%
Other specified reasons	2.0%	1.0%	0.7%	0.7%	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.3%
Unspecified reasons	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%
Total	6.1%	5.1%	5.3%	5.0%	4.7%	4.5%	4.3%	3.6%	4.6%	4.4%	4.0%

Knowledge-intensive workforce in the core public administration

In 1990, the public service workforce was composed mainly of clerical and operational workers. Since then, employees undertaking more knowledge-intensive work comprise an ever-increasing share of employees in the core public administration. The cadre of knowledge workers is highly skilled, with significant expertise gained through a combination of education, training and experience. The transformation in work has been in response to:

• an increasingly demanding environment
• new challenges
• technological advances since 2000

As shown in Figure 11, the five largest knowledge-intensive classification groups in the core public administration are:

• Administrative Services (AS)
• Program Administration (PM)
• Economics and Social Science Services (EC)
• Information Technology (IT)^{Footnote 12}
• Engineering and Scientific Support (EG)

In 2024, these classification groups represented 51.4% of the core public administration workforce, and in 2010, they represented only 40.7%.

Figure 11 - Text version

Classification group	2010	2015	2020	2024
AS	13.8%	14.5%	16.0%	16.8%
PM	11.3%	10.8%	12.3%	15.1%
EC	5.9%	6.6%	8.2%	9.6%
IT	6.4%	7.0%	7.2%	7.5%
EG	3.2%	3.2%	2.8%	2.4%

Population size of the Executive group

As of March 31, 2024, there were 9,155 executives in the federal public service:

• about half of them (50.2%) were EX-01s
• only 6.1% were EX-04s and EX-05s

As of March 31, 2024, executives accounted for 2.5% of the federal public service. Since 2010, executives have accounted for about 2.5% of the federal public service.

Between 2010 and 2024, the federal public service workforce grew by 30.0%, while the executive population grew by 35.2% over this same period.

Diversity of executives

Employment equity designated groups among core public administration executives

Figure 12 illustrates the levels of executive representation in the core public administration for all four employment equity groups from 2020 to 2024.

In 2024, the core public administration representation levels for women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities in the executive category exceeded their respective WFA.

Compared with 2023, the representation levels of all four designated groups at the executive level increased.

Figure 12 - Text version

Employment equity designated group	2020	2021	WFA for 2020 and 2021	2022	WFA for 2022	2023	WFA for 2023	2024	WFA for 2024
Women	51.1%	52.3%	48.0%	53.2%	48.2%	54.2%	48.0%	55.1%	42.2%
Indigenous Peoples	4.1%	4.4%	5.1%	4.9%	5.2%	5.2%	5.4%	5.5%	3.9%
Persons with disabilities	4.7%	5.6%	5.3%	6.5%	5.3%	7.7%	5.3%	9.7%	5.3%
Members of visible minorities (racialized employees)	11.5%	12.4%	10.6%	14.0%	11.2%	15.2%	10.8%	16.4%	15.8%

Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat pay system as of March 31 of each year and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat Employment Equity Data Bank.

Population: The information provided includes indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees of organizations captured under the Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV (core public administration). Excluded from this information are employees on leave without pay, terms of less than three months, students and casual workers, Governor in Council appointees, ministers’ exempt staff, federal judges, and deputy ministers.

The data in this table covers employees identified for the purpose of employment equity in the regulations to the Employment Equity Act.

Technical notes

Internal representation for Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities is based on those who have voluntarily chosen to self-identify in one of the respective employment equity groups, while sex information is taken from the pay system.

The Law Management (LC) group has been included as part of the executive workforce since the 2011–12 fiscal year.

WFA estimates for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are based on information from the 2016 Census of Canada and the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. WFA estimates for 2024 are based on information from the 2021 Census of Canada and the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability.

WFA estimates include Canadian citizens and, starting in 2022, permanent residents.

WFA estimates are based on occupations in the Canadian workforce that correspond to occupations in the core public administration as of March 31 of each year (except for March 2020 and March 2021, which is based on the March 2019 population).

First official language of executives

As shown in Figure 13, between 2010 and 2024, the proportion of executives in the federal public service who indicated that French is their first official language increased from 30.1% to 33.2%. This trend was not seen for the overall federal public service for the same period of time. The proportion of federal public servants who indicated that French was their first official language decreased slightly from 29.0% in 2010 to 28.2% in 2024.

Figure 13 - Text version

First official language	2010	2015	2020	2024
English	69.9%	68.9%	67.1%	66.8%
French	30.1%	31.1%	32.9%	33.2%

Source: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Technical notes

Population: Includes all federal public service executives, specifically, core public administration executives and their equivalents in separate agencies (such as Executive group (EX) and Management group (MG) classifications) in all tenures (indeterminate, term and casual). It does not include executives on leave without pay or executives whose first official language is unknown.

The information provided is based on data as of March 31.

Age of executives in federal public service

Figure 14 shows the age breakdown of federal public service executives for 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024. The proportion of executives between 40 and 49 years of age and 65 years and older has increased between 2010 and 2024, while the proportion of executives between 35 and 39 years of age and between 55 and 64 years of age has decreased. The proportion of executives between 50 and 54 years of age in 2010 was the same as in 2024.

Figure 14 - Text version

Age band	2010	2015	2020	2024
25 to 29 years	Footnote *	0.0%	Footnote *	Footnote *
30 to 34 years	Footnote *	0.8%	Footnote *	Footnote *
35 to 39 years	7.3%	7.0%	5.4%	5.5%
40 to 44 years	15.6%	15.6%	18.6%	15.8%
45 to 49 years	22.4%	22.9%	24.9%	27.4%
50 to 54 years	28.0%	27.7%	26.9%	28.0%
55 to 59 years	18.4%	19.2%	16.5%	16.2%
60 to 64 years	5.8%	5.8%	5.6%	4.9%
65 years and over	1.0%	1.2%	1.2%	1.3%

Source: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Technical notes

Population: Includes all federal public service executives, specifically, core public administration executives and their equivalents in separate agencies (such as Executive group (EX) and Management group (MG) classifications) in all tenures (indeterminate, term and casual). It does not include executives on leave without pay.

The information provided excludes employees whose age is unknown and is based on data as of March 31.

Figure 15 shows that between 2010 and 2024:

• the average age of junior executives at the EX-01 to EX-03 levels in the federal public service remained stable at approximately 50 years of age
• the average age of senior executives at the EX-04 to EX-05 levels remained between 53 and 54 years of age
• the average age of non-executives remained between 43 and 45 years of age

Figure 15 - Text version

Executive level	2010	2015	2020	2024
EX-01 to EX-03	49.9	50.1	49.8	49.9
EX-04 and EX-05	53.4	53.7	53.4	53.4
Non-EX	43.7	44.8	43.8	43.2

Source: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Technical notes

Population: Includes all federal public service executives, specifically, core public administration executives and their equivalents in separate agencies (such as Executive group (EX) and Management group (MG) classifications) in all tenures (indeterminate, term and casual). The population does not include executives on leave without pay.

The information provided excludes employees whose age is unknown and is based on data as of March 31.