TORONTO, Sept. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The government sector accounted for 86.7% of all new jobs in Canada since the pandemic began in early 2020, according to new research released today by the Fraser Institute. , an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.
“The government sector, not the private sector, has been driving job creation in Canada since the onset of the COVID pandemic and recession,” said Ben Eisen, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Comparing Public and Private Sector Job Growth in the Age of COVID-19.
The study examines labor market statistics between February 2020, when the pandemic began, and July 2022, the most recent monthly information available. It finds that public sector jobs increased by 9.4% (net) compared to only 0.4% in the private sector, including self-employment.
The public sector added 366,800 jobs (net) during this period, while the private sector (including self-employment) added 56,100.
As a result, the share of adults (15 years or older) employed in the private sector (including self-employment) actually fell from 49.3% to 48.2%.
Another disturbing statistic from the study is the decimation of self-employment, a key measure of entrepreneurship. The study found that 214,400 jobs (net) have been lost since the start of the pandemic.
“Many of the key statistics surrounding the Canadian labor market seem encouraging at first glance, but the reality is more complicated,” Eisen said.
“Job creation in Canada over the past few years has not been driven by private sector growth, but rather by government hiring.
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and education organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal and links to a global network of think tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life of Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and widely communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choices on their well-being. To protect the independence of the Institute, it does not accept government grants or research contracts. Visit www.institutfraser.org
