Game Developer Research has revealed results of its third annual Game Developer Census, which monitors North American developers and publishers, that show a slight increase from 44,400 to 44,806 employees.

The small rise in North American game industry employment was attributed to “an unusually high number of new studios, particularly in social and online gaming, springing up to counterbalance the many closures that occurred throughout the rest of the industry.”

Canada, however, rose from 9,500 Canadian video game employees in 2008 to 12,480 in 2009. This is in part due to “the strengthening of the major development hubs in Vancouver and Montreal, as well as up-and-coming development centers like Toronto," says the report.

Simon Carless, director of Game Developer Research, said, “We’re pleased to be debuting the latest Game Developer Census for North America. The report offers a comprehensive snapshot of the financial health of the industry. For industry watchers, this is an essential document to discover the state of the games business.”