B.C.’s public sector has grown at more than three times the pace of private-sector hiring over the past decade, and nearly three times faster than the province’s population, according to a new report.
Full-time equivalent positions in B.C.’s public sector increased 54 percent in the decade up to fiscal year 2025/26, says the recently released report from the Fraser Institute. At the same time, the population grew 19.6 percent and private sector hiring increased 16.8 percent.
In absolute numbers, full-time positions in the public sector increased in that 10-year period from 284,231 to 437,835. The full-time equivalent positions figure is based on number of hours worked rather than headcount. Two half-time positions, for example, represent one full-time equivalent position….