The Economics and Statistics Division maintains archives of previous publications for accountability purposes, but makes no updates to keep these documents current with the latest data revisions from Statistics Canada. As a result, information in older documents may not be accurate. Please exercise caution when referring to older documents. For the latest information and historical data, please contact the individual listed to the right.
<--- Return to Archive
For additional information relating to this article, please contact:
May 29, 2025PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, MARCH 2025 Monthly (March 2025 vs February 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 461,385 payroll employees in March 2025, up 0.3% (+1,358) compared to February 2025, the only gain among provinces. Canada had 18.19 million employees, down 0.3% from February 2025. There were declines in eight provinces, led by Manitoba. Payroll employment was unchanged for Alberta.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,134.34 in March 2025, a decline of $8.03 (-0.7%) from February 2025.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,290.80, a decline of 0.32% (-$4.11) from average weekly earnings in February. Six provinces reported declines in average weekly earnings, with the fastest decline in New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island reported the largest gain in average weekly earnings compared to February.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in March 2025 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/technical services, company management, and finance/insurance industries. The lowest average weekly earnings were reported in Nova Scotia's accommodations/food service industries, and retail trade.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities and mining sectors, and were not available in March 2025 for: forestry/logging, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
In March 2025, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 87.9% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly wages were below the comparable national average for every industry. The smallest gaps were reported among accommodation/food services and health/social assistance. The largest gap was reported in public administration (81.6% of the national average).
Year-over-year (March 2025 vs March 2024)
Compared with the same month in 2024, Nova Scotia's payroll employment grew by 1.0% (+4,678) in March 2025. This was faster than the national average gain of 0.2%. Seven provinces reported growth in payroll employment with the fastest gain in New Brunswick. The fastest decline was reported in Manitoba.
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.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities and mining sectors, and were not available in March 2025 for: forestry/logging, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
Public administration had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia, followed by construction. Company management, accommodation/food services, and finance/insurance reported the largest percentage declines in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 2.8% in Nova Scotia from March 2024 to March 2025. This was slower than the national pace of 4.3%.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.3% across Canada from March 2024 to March 2025. There were gains in each province, with the fastest increase in Québec. New Brunswick and Manitoba reported the slowest gains.
Average weekly wages were up 3.0% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and up 2.8% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. All of the reported industries except retail trade, wholesale trade, and public administration had year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increase in company management.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities and mining sectors, and were not available in March 2025 for: forestry/logging, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation. Data were not available for personal/repair services in March 2024.)
Year-to-date (January-March 2025 vs January-March 2024)
In the first three months of 2025, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 1.2%. This was faster than the national average of 0.6% as all provinces reported growth. The fastest year-to-date growth was reported in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick and the slowest in Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.
Construction, personal/repair services, health care/social assistance, and transportation reported the fastest growth in payroll employment in the first three months of 2025 in Nova Scotia. The fastest declines were reported in finance/insurance, accommodation/food services and company management.
In January-March 2025, average weekly earnings grew 4.0% in Nova Scotia compared to the same period last year. National average weekly earnings grew 5.0% with all provinces reporting growth over this period. Saskatchewan reported the fastest growth while Manitoba reported the slowest.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in professional/technical services, finance/insurance, and public administration in the first three months of the year. Average weekly earnings among payroll employees grew the fastest for finance/insurance, followed by education. Retail and wholesale trade reported lower average weekly earnings, year-to-date.
Nova Scotian average weekly earnings were below the national average for all reported industries in the first three months of 2025. The gap was smallest for accommodation/food services (99.7% of the national average) and health/social assistance (98.8% of the national average). The gap was largest for public administration (83.7% of the national average).
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
<--- Return to Archive
