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September 26, 2024PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, JULY 2024 Monthly (July 2024 vs June 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 457,421 payroll employees in July 2024, down 0.2% (-890) compared to June 2024. Nova Scotia was one of three provinces to report loss, behind Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia. Canada had 18.21 million employees, up 0.2% from June 2024. There were gains in six provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. Saskatchewan’s payroll employment was virtually unchanged compared to last month.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,120.97 in July of 2024, a gain of $5.47 (+0.5%) from June 2024.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,267.54, an increase of 1.0% (+$12.70) from average weekly earnings in June 2024. 9 out of 10 provinces reported gains in average weekly earnings, led by Newfoundland and Labrador. The only decline was posted in Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in July 2024 were second lowest among provinces, ahead of Prince Edward Island. Alberta reported the highest average weekly earnings.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in professional and technical services, information and culture, and finance and insurance industries. The lowest average weekly earnings were reported in Nova Scotia's accommodations and food service industries, arts, entertainment and recreation, and retail trade.
In June 2024, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 88.4% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly wages were below the comparable national average for every industry except health/social assistance and arts/recreation. The smallest gaps were in accommodation/food, manufacturing and retail trade. The largest gap was in forestry/logging (76.0% of the national average).
Year-over-year (July 2024 vs July 2023)
Compared with the same month in 2023, Nova Scotia's payroll employment grew by 1.4% (+6,251) in July 2024. This was higher than the national average gain of 0.9%. Eight provinces reported growth in payroll employment, with the fastest gain in Prince Edward Island while the largest decline was in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Among the industries reported on by Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia's largest industries of employment were health care/social assistance (which includes daycares), followed by retail trade and education.
Construction as well as health care/social assistance had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia. Wholesale trade and administrative support/call centres reported the largest percentage declines in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.8% in Nova Scotia from July 2023 to July 2024. This was stronger than the national pace of 4.5%.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.5% across Canada from July 2023 to July 2024. There were gains in each province, with the fastest rise in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario. Alberta reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly wages were up 6.2% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and up 4.4% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. Most of the industries reported year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increases in arts/recreation, personal/repair services, manufacturing and retail trade. Average weekly wages were down in company management, education, and finance/insurance.
Year-to-date (January-July 2024 vs January-July 2023)
In January-July 2024, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 1.8% over January-July 2023, tied for largest gain among provinces with Alberta. Across Canada, payroll employment growth was 1.1% with gains in all provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only one to report a decline in payroll employment.
In January-July 2024, health/social assistance as well as construction, public administration, and company management industries reported the fastest employment growth in percentage terms compared to the same period in 2023. Administrative support/call centres and forestry/logging reported the largest percentage declines.
In January-July 2024, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings increased by 5.2% compared to the same period in 2023. National average weekly earnings were up 4.1% in the first seven months of the year with gains in all provinces. Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Nova Scotia reported the fastest gains in average weekly earnings while Alberta reported the slowest rise.
In January-July 2024, information/culture, health/social assistance, and wholesale trade reported the fastest percentage gains in average weekly earnings compared to the same period in 2023. Declines were reported in finance/insurance and education services.
In January-July 2024, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in professional and technical services industries followed by information/culture. Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings averaged 89.2% of the national value for all industries in January-July 2024. All Nova Scotia industries reported average weekly earnings below their national counterparts except health/social assistance. The gaps were narrowest in accommodation/food services as well as retail trade. Public administration, construction, and transportation workers in Nova Scotia reported the largest gap in average weekly earnings compared with the national average for the industry.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0222-01 Employment, average hourly and weekly earnings (including overtime), and average weekly hours for the industrial aggregate excluding unclassified businesses, monthly, seasonally adjusted; Table 14-10-0223-01 Employment and average weekly earnings (including overtime) for all employees by province and territory, monthly, seasonally adjusted
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