Question Period Note: Growth in Federal Public Service Workforce

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About

Reference number:
EWDDI-JUN2022-010
Date received:
Mar 23, 2022
Organization:
Employment and Social Development Canada
Name of Minister:
Qualtrough, Carla (Hon.)
Title of Minister:
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

Issue/Question:

There has been recent media coverage regarding growth in the federal public service workforce since the start of the pandemic up until March 31, 2021, in which Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) was listed as one of the top 3 departments with growth of 21 percent.

Suggested Response:

The majority of external hiring activities at ESDC during this timeframe were to increase capacity in program delivery and clerical roles within Service Canada, that directly support the processing and delivery of various benefits and services for Canadians and their families.

The majority of external hiring conducted was into temporary roles, and does not represent permanent growth in the workforce.

Hiring and staffing practices within the Department are aligned with workforce planning and approved funding levels, to ensure that appropriate capacity is in place to serve the needs of Canadians.

Background:

The following provides a workforce snapshot for Employment and Social Development Canada as at January 1, 2020 and as at
March 31, 2021:
Q3 2019-2020 January 1, 2020
Portfolio
Indeterminate
Term
Casual
Student
Total
Employment and Social Development Branches
6,819
324
220
101
7,464
Service Canada
15,528
4,467
580
166
20,741
Labour Program
725
34
24
9
792
Other
48
1
2
1
52
Employment and Social Development Canada
23,120
4,826
826
277
29,049

Q4 2020-2021 March 31, 2021
Portfolio
Indeterminate
Term
Casual
Student
Total
Employment and Social Development Branches
7,241
321
381
240
8,183
Service Canada
17,720
6,981
1,452
258
26,411
Labour Program
857
25
33
20
935
Other
138
23
15
5
181
Employment and Social Development Canada
25,956
7,350
1,881
523
35,710

The workforce snapshot shows that more than half of the workforce change between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 was in term, casual and student roles. The changes in the indeterminate workforce during this period can be attributed to ongoing internal staffing, which includes permanent appointments of existing temporary employees aligned with workforce planning.

Additional Information:

None