Head Office Employment in Canada, 1999 to 2005

This paper provides an analysis of trends in business sector head office employment in Canada from 1999 to 2005. It investigates changes in the number of head offices and head office employment over this period. The paper also examines the effect of foreign ownership on head office employment. It asks how much foreign-controlled firms contribute to Canadian head office employment and employment growth and what happens to head office employment when control of a firm changes from domestic to foreign. The paper also looks at the rate at which head offices enter and exit over time with a view to ascertaining whether the loss of a head office is a rare occurrence or a relatively common event. Finally, the paper presents trends in head office employment across metropolitan areas over the past six years.