Last week, a report by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies called for a 14,000-job reduction in civil service jobs in Atlantic Canada.
It noted that the four provinces in this region are well above the national average in the number of public-sector jobs they have, compared with private-sector jobs.
In Nova Scotia, for instance, there are 99 provincial or municipal public-sector jobs for every 1,000 residents. The national average is 83. In New Brunswick, the figure is 84 jobs for every 1,000 residents.
The study also found that in Nova Scotia, public-sector jobs account for 30 per cent of all wages paid. The national average is 22 per cent.
The growing gap between private-sector workers and public-sector employees is a huge economic problem for this province, and one of the factors that is driving more young Nova Scotians to leave in search of a more level playing field.