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June 26, 2025PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, APRIL 2025 Monthly (April 2025 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 460,363 payroll employees in April 2025, down 0.12% (-548) compared to March 2025. Canada had 18.21 million employees, down 0.03% from March 2025. There were declines in five provinces, led by Québec and Manitoba. The fastest gains were reported in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,157.42 in April 2025, an increase of $15.16 (+1.33%) from March 2025.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,297.44, a gain of 0.75% (+$9.70) from average weekly earnings in March. All provinces reported gains in average weekly earnings, with the fastest gain in Prince Edward Island. The slowest gain was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in April 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, finance/insurance, and company management 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 April 2025 for: forestry/logging, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
In April 2025, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 89.2% 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 finance/insurance. The largest gap was reported in construction (82.8% of the national average).
Year-over-year (April 2025 vs April 2024)
Compared with the same month in 2024, Nova Scotia's payroll employment grew by 0.8% (+3,486) in April 2025. This was faster than the national average gain of 0.2%. Seven provinces reported growth in payroll employment with the fastest gains in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. The fastest decline was reported in Ontario.
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 from January 2025 to April 2025 for: information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
Forestry/logging had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia, followed by personal/repair services. Company management and finance/insurance reported the largest percentage declines in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.6% in Nova Scotia from April 2024 to April 2025. This was stronger than the national pace of 4.4%.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.4% across Canada from April 2024 to April 2025. There were gains in each province, with the fastest increase in Prince Edward Island. Manitoba reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly wages were up 1.0% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and up 5.5% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. All of the reported industries except wholesale trade had year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increases in finance/insurance, education, and administrative/support/call centres.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities and mining sectors, and were not available in April 2025 for: forestry/logging, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
Year-to-date (January-April 2025 vs January-April 2024)
In the first four months of 2025, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 1.1%. 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 Ontario and Manitoba.
Personal/repair services, construction, and health care/social assistance reported the fastest growth in payroll employment in the first four months of 2025 in Nova Scotia. The fastest declines were reported in company management and finance/insurance.
In January-April 2025, average weekly earnings grew 4.3% in Nova Scotia compared to the same period last year. National average weekly earnings grew 4.8% 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 four 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 four months of 2025. The gap was smallest for accommodation/food services (99.6% of the national average) and health/social assistance (98.6% of the national average). The gaps were largest for public administration and construction (each 84.6% 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
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