The total cost of personnel spending for the public service continued to increase in the first months of this fiscal year, even as staffing levels were reduced, according to Canada’s parliamentary budget officer.

The federal government spent $31.2 billion on salaries, bonuses and other personnel costs in the first five months of 2025-26, which was an increase of 7.8 per cent, said a new report released by the PBO on Nov. 19. And since September 2025 the average number of full-time equivalents (FTE) the public service had was 346,000, which was down from 358,000 in the previous fiscal year.

“This divergence suggests that the increases in personnel spending have been driven by higher expenses per FTE rather than staffing levels,” the report added.

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