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Personnel Expenditure Analysis Tool Update: 2023-24 Personnel Expenditures

Mark Creighton
Published on March 13, 2025

This update of the Personnel Expenditure Analysis Tool incorporates data from the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Over the last year, excluding one-time payments, spending on personnel increased by 10.0 per cent—well above pre-pandemic (2007-08 to 2019-20) average annual growth of 3.1 per cent. Including one-time payments in the form of retroactive payments made following the implementation of new collective agreements as well as actuarial deficiencies in the Canadian Forces Superannuation Account, total personnel spending increased by 15.7 per cent to $65.3 billion in 2023-24 from $56.5 billion in 2022-23.

010203040506070200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023SalaryPensionOther paymentsOvertime and bonusesOne-time payments
Components of personnel spending, 2006-07 to 2023-24, $billions

Public Accounts of Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Public Accounts of Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Data are in fiscal years (2023 corresponds to fiscal year 2023-24). Other payments include spending related to Employment Insurance, employer contributions to hospital and medical plans and disability insurance, and other miscellaneous payments. One-time payments include spending related to actuarial deficiencies in the Government’s Superannuation Account, retroactive payments, severance pay and termination benefits (immediate settlement), and compensation for the Phoenix pay system. Totals may not add due to rounding.

The cost drivers of total personnel spending (after adjusting for one-time payments) can be divided into the number of personnel (full-time equivalents (FTEs)) and the spending per FTE. The 10.0 per cent increase in personnel spending (excluding one-time payments) was driven by 2.1 per cent growth in the number of FTEs and a 7.7 per cent increase in spending per FTE, reflecting a non-recurring lump sum payment made as part of new collective agreements in 2023-24 (Figure 2).

-4%-2%0%2%4%6%8%10%12%20072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023Spending per FTEFTEsPersonnel spending
Composition of growth in personnel spending, 2007-08 to 2023-24, year-over-year growth

Public Accounts of Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Public Accounts of Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Data are in fiscal years (2023 corresponds to fiscal year 2023-24).

In 2023-24, the federal public service expanded to 441,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs), an increase of 9,000 FTEs (2.1 per cent) compared to the previous year.[^1] This represents 2,000 additional FTEs compared to estimated levels in the 2024-25 Departmental Plans.[^2]

Since 2020-21, FTEs have grown by 3.7 per cent annually, on average, well above pre-pandemic (2007-08 to 2019-20) average annual growth of 1.0 per cent (Figure 3).[^3] The number of FTEs employed per 100,000 of the population decreased from 1,093 in 2022-23 to 1,081 in 2023-24, a decline of 1.1 per cent, reflecting historically strong population growth.

020040060080010001200 - 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023FTEsFTEs per 100,000 population
Number of Full-Time Equivalents, 2006-07 to 2023-24

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and Statistics Canada

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and Statistics Canada

Data are in fiscal years (2023 corresponds to fiscal year 2023-24).

Total compensation per FTE increased by 7.7 per cent from $126,634 per FTE in 2022-23 to $136,345 per FTE in 2023-24, exceeding the growth realized in any year since 2006-07, in part due to non-recurring lump sum payments made under new collective agreements in 2023-24.

These new agreements increased total compensation per FTE via increased salaries, and consequently pension contributions. The significant growth in salaries observed this year came about due to the time between collective agreements, resulting in a gap between what employees were paid in the prior collective agreement and the current one. Salaries increased by 7.8 per cent per FTE in 2023-24 (including the non-recurrent lump sum payments), and spending on pensions increased by 13.6 per cent in the same period. Other payments and overtime had more modest growth in comparison at 3.5 per cent, and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

7.7%7.8%13.6%3.5%1.7%1.1%0.5%-0.4%9.2%-6.2%3.3%3.1%4.9%1.2%7.1%2.0%2.0%1.0%3.0%1.9%-10%-5%0%5%10%15%TotalSalaryPensionOther paymentsOvertime andbonusesGrowth in 2023-24Growth in 2022-23Average growth over 2019-20 to 2021-22Average growth over 2006-07 to 2019-20
Composition of growth in compensation per FTE, average annual growth

Receiver General for Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer

Receiver General for Canada and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer