Demographic Snapshot of the Federal Public Service, 2015

The information presented includes key demographics for the federal public service (FPS), comparing the current workforce to that from previous years (e.g., 1983).^{Footnote 1}

The FPS consists of two population segments: the core public administration (CPA) and separate agencies.

The term “core public administration” refers to approximately 70 departments and agencies for which the Treasury Board is the employer. These organizations are named in Schedules I and IV of the Financial Administration Act.

The term “separate agencies” refers to those listed in Schedule V of the Act. Separate agencies conduct their own negotiations or set their own classification system and compensation levels for their employees.

The demographic information below supplements the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Annual Report to the Prime Minister on the Public Service of Canada: Twenty-Third Annual Report.

The data is current as of March 31, 2015, unless otherwise indicated.

Introduction
Part I – Demographic Profile of the Federal Public Service
Part II – Demographic Profile of Executives

Introduction

This document presents key demographics for the FPS.^{Footnote 2} Part I covers the entire FPS, while Part II focuses on executives.

Demographic Profile of the Federal Public Service of Canada
March 31, 2015

257,034 employees (250,882 in 1983)
The FPS represents 0.72% of the Canadian population (0.99% in 1983)
58.3% of employees are in the regions; 41.7% are in the National Capital Region
85.5% are indeterminate employees, 9.0% are term employees, and 5.5% are casuals and students
55.0% of employees are women (41.8% in 1983)
45.7% of executives are women (5.2% in 1983)
71.3% of employees declared English to be their first official language (FOL); 28.7% declared French to be their first (72.7% declared English while 27.3% declared French in 1983)
Average age of employees: 45.0 years (39.3 in 1983)
Average age of executives: 50.3 years (48.1 in 1983)

Part I – Demographic Profile of the Federal Public Service

1. Context – Relative Size and Spending

Between 1983 and 2015, the population of Canada grew from 25.3 million to 35.8 million (an increase of 41.3%),^{Footnote 3} while the number of federal public servants increased from 250,882 to 257,034 (2.5%). The FPS currently comprises 0.72% of the Canadian population. This is well below the ratios from the 1980s and early 1990s, which were very close to one percent.

Between 1983 and 2015, the real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 120.8% and real federal program spending increased by 52.6% (in constant dollars). However, over the last year there has been an increase of 2.5% in real GDP and a slight increase of 0.1% in federal program spending, as shown in Figure 1.

Government priorities have had a significant influence on the size of the FPS workforce over the years. The focus in recent years has been on streamlining activities, outsourcing services and cost reductions. As a result, the FPS workforce decreased between 2010 and 2015.

Trends in the Economy, the Canadian Population, Federal Program Spending and the Size of the Federal Public Service, 1983–84 to 2014–15. Text version below: — **Figure 1: Trends in the Economy, the Canadian Population, Federal Program Spending and the Size of the Federal Public Service, 1983–84 to 2014–15**

Fiscal Year	Canadian Population Index	Federal Public Service Workforce Index	Real Gross Domestic Product Index (in Constant Dollars – 2007)	Real Program Expenses Index (in Constant Dollars – 2002)
1983–84	100	100	100	100
1984–85	101	101	106	105
1985–86	102	101	111	100
1986–87	103	100	113	101
1987–88	104	99	118	104
1988–89	105	98	123	104
1989–90	107	99	126	104
1990–91	109	100	126	104
1991–92	110	101	124	104
1992–93	112	101	125	109
1993–94	113	101	128	108
1994–95	114	98	134	108
1995–96	115	96	137	104
1996–97	117	88	140	94
1997–98	118	83	145	96
1998–99	119	81	151	96
1999–00	120	81	159	96
2000–01	121	84	167	103
2001–02	122	89	170	105
2002–03	124	95	175	110
2003–04	125	97	178	114
2004–05	126	97	184	128
2005–06	127	97	190	125
2006–07	128	100	195	132
2007–08	130	101	199	137
2008–09	131	105	201	140
2009–10	132	109	195	163
2010–11	134	113	201	157
2011–12	135	113	207	153
2012–13	137	111	211	152
2013–14	138	105	216	152
2014–15	140	102	221	153

Sources: Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO), Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS); Statistics Canada; Department of Finance Canada (Fiscal Reference Tables).

Notes

The Canadian Population Index is based on the April 1 data of each year. The FPS Workforce Index is based on active employees only and is based on March 31 data at the start of each fiscal year.

The Real Program Expenses Index is based on fiscal year data, while the Real GDP Index is based on calendar year data.

Program expenses include transfers and were deflated using the Consumer Price Index.

2. Federal Public Service Diversity

a) Gender

In 2015, women comprised 55.0% of the FPS, a significant increase since 1983 when women accounted for only 41.8% of the workforce.

Proportion of Men and Women in the Federal Public Service – Select Years, 1983 to 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 2: Proportion of Men and Women in the Federal Public Service – Select Years, 1983 to 2015**

	1983	1988	1993	1998	2003	2008	2015
Men	58.2%	55.7%	52.9%	49.6%	46.7%	45.1%	45.0%
Women	41.8%	44.3%	47.1%	50.4%	53.3%	54.9%	55.0%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Note: Figure 2 includes all employment tenures and active employees only (i.e., employees on leave without pay are excluded). The information provided is based on March 31 data.

b) Employment Equity Designated Groups

Representation

Figure 3 shows that there have been modest increases in the representation levels of three out of the four employment equity designated groups in the FPS since 2009–10. The representation rates for women, Aboriginal peoples and members of a visible minority were the same or higher than the previous year. However, the representation of persons with disabilities in the FPS decreased slightly from 5.8% in 2013–14 to 5.7% in 2014–15. Representation of all four employment equity groups continues to exceed their respective workforce availability.^{Footnote 4}

Employment Equity Designated Group	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	Workforce Availability
Women	55.1%	55.3%	55.3%	55.0%	54.9%	55.0%	53.2%
Aboriginal Peoples	4.2%	4.3%	4.5%	4.6%	4.6%	4.6%	3.3%
Persons with Disabilities	5.6%	5.6%	5.7%	5.8%	5.8%	5.7%	4.4%
Members of a Visible Minority Group	11.6%	12.6%	13.3%	14.0%	14.6%	15.4%	14.3%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Population: Indeterminate employees and term employees of three months or more, excluding employees on leave without pay, in the CPA and employees of separate agencies. Some small separate agencies were not included because of missing information.

Notes

Workforce availability estimates for the FPS are based on the National Household Survey 2011 and the Canadian Survey on Disability 2012.

The source of the representation data is the CPA Employment Equity Data Bank (EEDB), which is populated with self-identification information provided by employees, plus the data from separate agencies’ reports to Parliament.

Hiring

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

Appointments to the Public Service by Employment Equity Designated Groups, with Estimated Workforce Availability Based on the National Household Survey (2011) and the Canadian Survey on Disability (2012). Text version below: — Figure 4: Appointments to the Public Service by Employment Equity Designated Groups, with Estimated Workforce Availability Based on the National Household Survey (2011) and the Canadian Survey on Disability (2012)

Employment Equity Designated Group	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	Workforce Availability
Women	52.9%	55.2%	56.6%	52.5%
Aboriginal Peoples	4.9%	4.6%	3.8%	3.4%
Persons with Disabilities	3.5%	3.3%	3.5%	4.4%
Members of a Visible Minority Group	14.7%	16.0%	16.1%	13.0%

Sources: TBS EEDB, Public Service Commission (PSC) hiring and staffing activities files, and the Public Service Resourcing System.

Population: Indeterminate employees and term employees of three months or more in the public service. In a PSC context, “the public service” refers to organizations under the Public Service Employment Act and is approximately comparable to the CPA. All appointment figures exclude specified term appointments of less than three months and appointments to separate agencies.

Notes

Appointments refer to employees who were added to the public service of Canada payroll between April 1 and March 31 of each given fiscal year.

The figures for Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of a visible minority are extracted from the EEDB where a match was found in the PSC hiring and staffing activities file covering each given fiscal year. These include appointments as a result of both external advertised and non-advertised processes.

The source of the representation data is the CPA EEDB, which is populated with self-identification information provided by employees.

Due to a change in methodology, figures published in fiscal years prior to 2012–13 are not comparable.

The figures for women are extracted from PSC hiring and staffing activities files. These include appointments as a result of both advertised and non-advertised processes.

Workforce availability estimates for the FPS are based on the National Household Survey 2011 and the Canadian Survey on Disability 2012.

c) First Official Language

As shown in Figure 5, the proportion of federal public servants identifying either English or French as their FOL has remained relatively stable since 1983. In 2015, French was identified as the FOL by 28.7% of federal public servants and English was identified by 71.3%.

Figure 5: First Official Language Profile of the Federal Public Service – Select Years, 1983 to 2015

Figure 5 - Text version

	1983	1988	1993	1998	2003	2008	2015
English	72.7%	71.8%	71.1%	70.7%	70.5%	70.6%	71.3%
French	27.3%	28.2%	28.9%	29.3%	29.5%	29.4%	28.7%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Note: Figure 5 includes all employment tenures and active employees only (i.e., employees on leave without pay are excluded). The information provided is based on March 31 data.

3. Age Profile of the Federal Public Service

Figure 6 compares the age distribution of federal public servants for 2010 and 2015. Over this five-year period, the age distribution of federal public servants has changed slightly, with a minor shift toward the older age groups. There was a decline in the proportion of employees under 35 years of age, an increase in those between 35 and 49 years and an increase in those 50 years and over. However, overall the 40–54 age group still accounts for almost 50% of the entire FPS workforce.

The average age of federal public servants increased slightly from 43.9 years in 2010 to 45.0 years in 2015.

Federal Public Service Population by Age Band for 2010 and 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 6: Federal Public Service Population by Age Band for 2010 and 2015**

Age Band	2010	2015
Under 20	0.3%	0.2%
20–24	4.2%	3.2%
25–29	8.9%	6.6%
30–34	11.4%	10.7%
35–39	12.0%	13.7%
40–44	13.2%	14.1%
45–49	16.4%	14.7%
50–54	16.7%	17.2%
55–59	11.1%	12.2%
60–64	4.4%	5.4%
65 and over	1.3%	2.0%
Total	100.0%	100.0%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Note: Figure 6 includes all employment tenures and active employees only (i.e., employees on leave without pay are excluded). The information provided excludes employees with an unknown age and is based on March 31 data.

Figure 7 shows the distribution of federal public servants by age for selected years between 1983 and 2015. The baby boomer generation (bars marked by forward slashes) can be seen moving through the age bands. The baby boomer generation previously comprised the highest proportion of the FPS population. However, employees of this group now fall within the upper three age categories (45–54, 55–64, 65 and over) and are being replaced by employees of Generation X and millennials.

Distribution of Federal Public Service Employees by Age – Select Years, 1983 to 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 7: Distribution of Federal Public Service Employees by Age – Select Years, 1983 to 2015**

Age Category	Age	1983	1993	2003	2015
Table 7 Notes Table 7 Note 1 Indicates the baby boomer generation (also distinguished by colour and font weight). Return to table 7 note 1 * referrer
Under 25	Under 17	67	4	29	16
17-18	916^{table 7 note 1 *}	77	160	89
19-20	4,373^{table 7 note 1 *}	1,209	1,165	1,383
21-22	8,610^{table 7 note 1 *}	3,402	3,396	3,060
23-24	12,235^{table 7 note 1 *}	5,686	5,302	4,049
25-34	25-26	14,779^{table 7 note 1 *}	8,253	7,336	5,398
27-28	16,586^{table 7 note 1 *}	10,915^{table 7 note 1 *}	8,443	7,018
29-30	17,305^{table 7 note 1 *}	13,131^{table 7 note 1 *}	8,652	9,246
31-32	17,783^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,968^{table 7 note 1 *}	9,415	10,648
33-34	17,139^{table 7 note 1 *}	16,491^{table 7 note 1 *}	10,053	12,057
35-44	35-36	16,746^{table 7 note 1 *}	17,928^{table 7 note 1 *}	10,771	13,447
37-38	12,488^{table 7 note 1 *}	19,039^{table 7 note 1 *}	12,935^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,303
39-40	11,669	19,530^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,910^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,605
41-42	10,552	19,453^{table 7 note 1 *}	16,287^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,277
43-44	9,478	18,428^{table 7 note 1 *}	17,607^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,783
45-54	45-46	9,188	18,071^{table 7 note 1 *}	18,032^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,824
47-48	9,113	13,036^{table 7 note 1 *}	18,327^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,949
49-50	9,218	12,033	18,187^{table 7 note 1 *}	16,903^{table 7 note 1 *}
51-52	9,468	10,330	17,268^{table 7 note 1 *}	17,814^{table 7 note 1 *}
53-54	8,741	8,492	15,407^{table 7 note 1 *}	17,655^{table 7 note 1 *}
55-64	55-56	8,197	6,778	11,589^{table 7 note 1 *}	14,920^{table 7 note 1 *}
57-58	8,251	5,317	6,751^{table 7 note 1 *}	11,686^{table 7 note 1 *}
59-60	7,354	4,026	4,743	8,913^{table 7 note 1 *}
61-62	5,992	2,665	2,694	5,908^{table 7 note 1 *}
63-64	3,700	1,678	1,580	3,907^{table 7 note 1 *}
65 and over	65-66	375	800	737	2,360^{table 7 note 1 *}
67-68	119	390	406	1,417^{table 7 note 1 *}
69 and over	156	428	553	1,398^{table 7 note 1 *}
Unknown	Unknown	284	8	2	1
Total	250,882	252,566	242,737	257,034

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Notes

Figure 7 includes all employment tenures and active employees only (i.e., employees on leave without pay are excluded). The information provided is based on March 31 data.

Each vertical bar represents two years of age, with the exception of the first and last bar. The first bar includes all individuals under 17 years of age, and the last bar includes all individuals over 68 years of age. All employees with an unknown age have been removed from the graph.

Traditionalists were born in 1945 or earlier. Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1966. Generation X was born between 1967 and 1979. Millennials were born after 1979.

4. Retirements in the Federal Public Service

As shown in Figure 8, the retirement rate decreased slightly between 2010–11 and 2012–13 (from 3.3% to 2.9%) followed by a gradual increase to 3.2% in 2014–15. There were approximately 7,800 retirements in the FPS in 2014–15.

As a result of Budget 2012 decisions, many employees who planned to retire during 2012–13 and 2013–14, left the FPS by accepting one of the workforce adjustment or career transition (for executives) measures.

The percentage of indeterminate federal public servants eligible to retire as of March 31, 2015, was 10.2%, up from 9.8% as of March 31, 2014. Current retirees were recruited at a young age and had a long career in the FPS. In 2014–15, 49.1% of retired employees had 30 or more pensionable years of service, compared with only 27.5% in 1982–83.

Historical and Projected Retirement Rates for Federal Public Servants, 2010–11 to 2019–20. Text version below: — **Figure 8: Historical and Projected Retirement Rates for Federal Public Servants, 2010–11 to 2019–20**

	Fiscal Year	Retirement Rates
Historical	2010–11	3.3%
2011–12	3.2%
2012–13	2.9%
2013–14	3.1%
2014–15	3.2%
Estimate	2015–16	3.4%
Projected	2016–17	3.3%
2017–18	3.4%
2018–19	3.4%
2019–20	3.5%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Population: Indeterminate federal public servants, including employees who retire while on leave without pay.

Note: Projected retirement rates assume a stable population for the projected period. If the overall population increases or decreases in the future, the rate will be affected.

Retirement eligibility: Employees are eligible to retire once they have reached the appropriate combination of pensionable years of service and age.

5. Years of Experience in the Federal Public Service

Figure 9 shows the distribution of indeterminate federal public servants by experience level. Between 2014 and 2015, employees with 15–24 years of experience represented the largest increase (from 21.6% to 22.9%), whereas employees with 0–4 years of experience represented the largest decrease (from 13.2% to 11.0%).

From 2015 to 2016, the proportion of employees with 5–14 and 25+ years of experience is estimated to decrease to 48.7% and 16.2%, respectively, whereas the proportion of employees with 0–4 and 15–24 years of experience is estimated to increase during the same period to 11.1% and 23.9%, respectively.

ears of Experience Bands for Indeterminate Federal Public Servants from March 1983 to March 2020 (Projected). Text version below: — **Figure 9: Years of Experience Bands for Indeterminate Federal Public Servants from March 1983 to March 2020 (Projected)**

**Population Distribution (%)**
	Year	0–4 Years of Experience	5–14 Years of Experience	15–24 Years of Experience	25+ Years of Experience	Total
Historical	1983	30.3%	44.5%	16.6%	8.6%	100.0%
1984	29.6%	45.3%	16.5%	8.6%	100.0%
1985	29.5%	45.5%	16.6%	8.5%	100.0%
1986	26.6%	47.7%	17.4%	8.3%	100.0%
1987	20.9%	51.0%	19.6%	8.5%	100.0%
1988	18.9%	50.8%	22.3%	8.0%	100.0%
1989	18.9%	48.2%	25.2%	7.6%	100.0%
1990	19.4%	45.2%	27.8%	7.6%	100.0%
1991	19.0%	40.9%	29.7%	10.4%	100.0%
1992	19.8%	39.0%	30.5%	10.6%	100.0%
1993	20.2%	37.9%	30.7%	11.1%	100.0%
1994	18.0%	38.8%	31.8%	11.5%	100.0%
1995	15.2%	40.5%	32.6%	11.7%	100.0%
1996	11.6%	41.8%	35.3%	11.3%	100.0%
1997	9.2%	41.0%	37.6%	12.3%	100.0%
1998	8.7%	39.9%	37.7%	13.8%	100.0%
1999	10.3%	38.0%	36.2%	15.5%	100.0%
2000	13.1%	35.3%	34.1%	17.5%	100.0%
2001	16.8%	32.5%	31.9%	18.8%	100.0%
2002	21.4%	30.1%	29.0%	19.5%	100.0%
2003	23.8%	29.1%	27.4%	19.8%	100.0%
2004	23.7%	29.2%	27.1%	20.0%	100.0%
2005	21.5%	30.6%	27.8%	20.0%	100.0%
2006	19.7%	32.1%	27.4%	20.7%	100.0%
2007	18.0%	35.0%	26.0%	21.0%	100.0%
2008	18.8%	36.0%	24.8%	20.4%	100.0%
2009	22.1%	35.7%	23.1%	19.2%	100.0%
2010	24.0%	36.3%	21.3%	18.4%	100.0%
2011	23.7%	38.4%	20.3%	17.6%	100.0%
2012	21.7%	41.2%	20.2%	17.0%	100.0%
2013	17.2%	45.3%	21.0%	16.6%	100.0%
2014	13.2%	48.7%	21.6%	16.4%	100.0%
2015	11.0%	49.4%	22.9%	16.7%	100.0%
Estimate	2016	11.1%	48.7%	23.9%	16.2%	100.0%
Projected	2017	11.9%	45.6%	26.6%	16.0%	100.0%
2018	13.7%	42.0%	28.6%	15.8%	100.0%
2019	15.4%	40.1%	29.6%	15.0%	100.0%
2020	16.4%	39.3%	30.5%	13.8%	100.0%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Population: Indeterminate federal public servants, including employees on leave without pay.

Note: The forecasted distribution is based on the assumption of a stable population over the projected period. If the overall population increases or decreases in the future, the rate will be affected.

6. A Knowledge-Intensive Workforce in the Core Public Administration

In 1983, the workforce was mainly composed of clerical and operational workers. Since 1983, employees undertaking more knowledge-intensive work comprise an ever-increasing share of the employees in the CPA. The cadre of knowledge workers is highly skilled, with significant expertise gained through a combination of education, training and experience. The transformation in work was in response to an increasingly demanding environment, new challenges, and technological advances over this period.

As shown in Figure 10, the five largest knowledge-intensive occupational groups in the CPA (Administrative Services (AS), Program Administration (PM), Computer Systems (CS), Economics and Social Science Services (EC), and Executive (EX)) increased since 1983. In 2015, these occupational groups represented 43.6% of the CPA workforce, while they represented only 16.0% in 1983.

Share of Key Occupations in the Core Public Administration Population – Select Years, 1983 to 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 10: Share of Key Occupations in the Core Public Administration Population – Select Years, 1983 to 2015**

Occupational Group	1983	1988	1993	1998	2003	2008	2015
AS	4.5%	5.0%	7.1%	8.5%	11.7%	13.6%	15.2%
PM	7.3%	7.1%	8.7%	10.1%	9.9%	11.5%	11.6%
CS	1.2%	1.6%	2.6%	4.4%	6.5%	6.6%	7.1%
EC	2.0%	2.2%	2.6%	3.9%	5.2%	6.2%	7.0%
EX	0.9%	1.1%	1.9%	2.0%	2.4%	2.6%	2.6%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Notes

The information provided is for the CPA only. Figure 10 includes all employment tenures and active employees only (i.e., employees on leave without pay are excluded), based on effective employment classification (i.e., acting appointments included). The information provided is based on March 31 data.

To provide an accurate picture of the growth and share of occupations historically, the analysis excludes the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), all CRA’s predecessors and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The CRA was a part of the CPA until 1999, after which it became a separate agency. The CBSA was created in 2003 as part of the CPA; a majority of its employees were transferred from the CRA.

The occupational groups are AS, PM, CS, EC and EX.

On June 22, 2009, the Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ES) and the Social Science Support (SI) occupational groups were combined to form the EC occupational group. For consistency, all ES, SI and EC numbers have been combined each year to create the EC occupational group.

Part II – Demographic Profile of Executives

This section provides demographic information for the FPS executive cadre.

Typically, assistant deputy ministers (classified as EX-05 and EX-04) fulfill senior leadership functions (i.e., they provide strategic direction and oversight); while directors general, executive directors and directors (classified as EX-03 to EX-01) fulfill executive functions and are responsible for managing employees.

1. Population Size of the Executive Group

As of March 31, 2015, there were 6,360 executives in the FPS. Approximately one half (51.4%) of executives were EX-01s, and only 6.3% were EX-04s and EX-05s.

Between 1983 and 2015, the FPS executive workforce grew by 74.1% due to an increase in knowledge-based occupational groups, an increase in director-level positions being classified as EX positions and deputy heads having control of the size of the executive group. During the same period, the overall FPS grew by 2.5%. Compared with last year (2014), there was a 0.6% decrease in the number of executives, while the overall FPS decreased by less than 0.1%. Executives accounted for 2.5% of the entire FPS population in 2015, up from 2.2% in 2005.

2. Executive Diversity

a) Employment Equity Designated Groups Among Core Public Administration Executives

Figure 11 illustrates the CPA executive representation levels for all four employment equity groups in 2005 and in 2015.

Representation of Employment Equity Designated Groups Among Core Public Administration Executives in 2005 and 2015, with Estimated Workforce Availability Based on the National Household Survey (2011) and the Canadian Survey on Disability (2012). Text version below: — Figure 11: Representation of Employment Equity Designated Groups Among Core Public Administration Executives in 2005 and 2015, with Estimated Workforce Availability Based on the National Household Survey (2011) and the Canadian Survey on Disability (2012)

Employment Equity Designated Group	March 2005	March 2015	Workforce Availability
Women	37.2%	46.4%	47.8%
Aboriginal Peoples	3.0%	3.4%	5.2%
Persons with Disabilities	5.5%	5.3%	2.3%
Members of a Visible Minority Group	5.1%	8.8%	9.5%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Population: Indeterminate employees and term employees of three months or more in the CPA (departments and agencies for which the Treasury Board is the employer), excluding employees on leave without pay.

Notes

Workforce availability estimates for the CPA are based on the National Household Survey 2011 and the Canadian Survey on Disability 2012.

The source of the representation data is the CPA EEDB, which is populated with self-identification information provided by employees.

March 2015 representation and workforce availability numbers include EX, GX (General Executive) and LC (Law Management) classifications, whereas March 2005 representation excludes LCs; therefore, the two years cannot be directly compared.

*The workforce availability for CPA executives for persons with disabilities should be used with caution due to high sampling variability.

As of March 2015, the CPA representation levels for all designated groups in the executive category, with the exception of persons with disabilities, did not meet their respective workforce availability, as shown in Figure 11.

Compared with last year (2014), the representation levels of designated groups at the executive level did not increase or decrease dramatically.

b) First Official Language of Executives

Figure 12 illustrates that between 1983 and 2015, a growing proportion of executives in the FPS identified French as their FOL (increasing from 20.4% to 31.1%). The current ratio in the executive cadre reflects the ratio in the overall FPS (71.3% identifying English versus 28.7% identifying French).

Proportion of Federal Public Service Executives by First Official Language – Select Years, 1983 to 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 12: Proportion of Federal Public Service Executives by First Official Language – Select Years, 1983 to 2015**

	1983	1988	1993	1998	2003	2008	2015
English	79.6%	79.3%	76.7%	75.1%	72.8%	70.2%	68.9%
French	20.4%	20.7%	23.3%	24.9%	27.2%	29.8%	31.1%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Population: Includes all FPS executives, specifically, CPA executives and their equivalents in separate agencies (such as Executive Group classifications and Management Group classifications) in all tenures (indeterminate, term and casual). It does not include executives on leave without pay. The information provided is based on March 31 data.

3. Age of Executives in the Federal Public Service

The age distribution of FPS executives is shown in Figure 13 for 2010 and 2015. The proportion of executives under 50 years of age decreased from 46.7% in 2010 to 46.1% in 2015; in 2014, the percentage was 46.2%. The proportion of executives over 50 during this period increased from 53.3% in 2010 to 53.9% in 2015.

The average age of executives in the FPS increased slightly between 2010 and 2015 (from 50.1 years in 2010 to 50.3 years in 2015).

Federal Public Service Executive Population Distribution by Age Band for 2010 and 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 13: Federal Public Service Executive Population Distribution by Age Band for 2010 and 2015**

Year	Age Band
2010	0.0%	1.4%	7.4%	15.6%	22.4%	28.0%	18.4%	5.8%	1.0%	100.0%
2015	0.0%	0.8%	6.9%	15.6%	22.8%	27.7%	19.2%	5.8%	1.2%	100.0%

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

Figure 14 shows that the average age for all executives in the FPS has increased; however, since 2003, there has been relative stability in the average age of executives at both the EX-01 to EX-03 levels and the EX-04 and EX-05 levels.

Average Age of Federal Public Service Executives and Assistant Deputy Ministers – Select Years, 1983 to 2015. Text version below: — **Figure 14: Average Age of Federal Public Service Executives and Assistant Deputy Ministers – Select Years, 1983 to 2015**

	1983	1988	1993	1998	2003	2008	2015
EX-01 to EX-03	48.0	48.0	48.4	49.5	50.3	50.2	50.1
EX-04 and EX-05	50.6	49.8	50.9	52.0	53.6	53.4	53.7

Source: OCHRO, TBS.

The average age in 2015 for the various employee segments described in this document are summarized below:

FPS: 45.0 years
Executives (FPS): 50.3 years
EX-01 to EX-03 (FPS): 50.1 years
EX-04 and EX-05 (FPS): 53.7 years

Footnotes

Footnote 1

The year 1983 is used as the baseline date of comparison because it is the first year in which data was collected.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The “federal public service” refers to the CPA (departments and agencies for which the Treasury Board is the employer) and separate agencies (principally the Canada Revenue Agency, Parks Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the National Research Council of Canada), as named in Schedule I, IV and V of the Financial Administration Act. Population counts for the following separate agencies are not included because their employee information is not available in the Regional Pay System: the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the National Capital Commission, Canada Investment and Savings and Canadian Forces Non-Public Funds. The FPS does not include ministers’ exempt staff, employees locally engaged outside Canada, RCMP Regular Force members, RCMP temporary civilian Force members or Canadian Armed Forces members.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Statistics Canada (CANSIM Table 051-0005, Q2 data)

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Workforce availability for an employment equity designated group is the percentage of citizens working in occupations in the Canadian workforce that corresponds to occupations in the FPS and CPA, with the data being derived from the National Household Survey 2011 and the Canadian Survey on Disability 2012.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

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Date modified:: 2016-06-24

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Demographic Snapshot of the Federal Public Service, 2015

Table of Contents

Introduction

Demographic Profile of the Federal Public Service of Canada
March 31, 2015