NB 355
March 31, 2005
FREDERICTON (CNB) - The second Government of New Brunswick Workforce Profile was tabled in the legislature today.
The profile details the size of the public service, which includes 20 departments, 14 school districts and eight regional health authorities. It is based on employees on the payroll at the end of the 2004 calendar year and provides comparable information for a three-year period.
"The workforce profile provides an accurate representation of the size of government," Minister of the Office of Human Resources Rose-May Poirier said. "While the overall size of the public service has decreased in the last year, there are more professionals working in the health system and the education system, which reflects the government's priority of investing in health care and education."
As of Dec. 31, 2004, there were 44,290 government employees, a decrease from 44,611 the previous year.
There was a decrease in the number of employees in departments due to retirements and the Workforce Adjustment Program. The civil service had 11,486 employees at the end of 2004, which is a decrease of 302 employees. The total number of employees in the education system decreased by 214 to 15,708, due primarily to a reduction in casual employees.
In two years, employment in the provincial health system has increased from 16,138 to 16,736. In 2004, there were 195 more employees working in the health system throughout the province compared with the previous year and almost 600 more compared with 2002.
The profile also provides detailed comparisons of permanent and temporary employment, and the number of full- and part-time employees, as well as the age profile of the public service.
The information contained within the profile is derived from the human resource and payroll systems within government and therefore provides an accurate and relevant report on key characteristics of the workforce.
The Government of New Brunswick Workforce Profile is available online at http://www.gnb.ca/0163.
05/03/31
MEDIA CONTACT: Christina Winsor, communications, Office of Human Resources 506-453-8014.
05/03/31