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 28, 2026PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, MARCH 2026 Monthly (March 2026 vs February 2026, seasonally adjusted
Nova Scotia had 465,456 payroll employees in March 2026, down 0.09% (-410) compared to February 2026. Canada had 18.27 million employees, down 0.17% from February 2026 with declines in seven provinces. The steepest decline was reported in Prince Edward Island. The fastest gain was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,210.83 in March 2026, a gain of $8.59 (+0.71%) from February 2026.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,333.23, a gain of 0.12% (+$1.62) from average weekly earnings in February 2026. Six provinces reported gains in average weekly earnings with the fastest gains in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The fastest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in March 2026 were the 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 company management, professional/technical, and finance/insurance services 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, mining, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing sectors, and were not available in March 2026 for: arts/entertainment/recreation.)
In March 2026, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 90.8% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly wages were below the comparable national average for every industry except health/social assistance and company management. The largest gap was reported in public administration (83.2% of the national average).
Year-over-year (March 2026 vs March 2025)
Compared with the same month in 2025, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased by 1.0% (+4,555) in March 2026. Nationally, payroll employment rose 0.1%, with gains in six provinces. The fastest gain was reported in Saskatchewan while the fastest decline was reported in Prince Edward Island.
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, mining, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing, arts/entertainment/recreation sectors, and were not available for March 2025 for: forestry/logging.)
Health care/social assistance and construction had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia. Transportation and administrative support/call centres reported fastest declines in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 5.8% in Nova Scotia from March 2025 to March 2026. This was stronger than the national pace of 3.5%.
There were average weekly wage gains in each province. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly wages were up 5.8% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and also up 5.8% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. All of the reported industries had year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increase in health care/social assistance and administrative support/call centres. Education reported the slowest increase.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities, mining, information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing sectors, arts/entertainment/recreation and were not available for March 2025 for: forestry/logging.)
Year-to-date (January-March 2026 vs January-March 2025)
In the first three months of 2026, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 1.0%. This was faster than the national average of 0.1% as all provinces reported growth except Québec and Ontario. The fastest year-to-date growth was reported in Saskatchewan.
Professional/technical services, construction, and health/social assistance reported the fastest growth in payroll employment in the first three months of 2026 in Nova Scotia. The fastest decline was reported in transportation.
In January-March 2026, average weekly earnings grew 5.2% in Nova Scotia compared to the same period last year, the second fastest gain among provinces (tied with New Brunswick). National average weekly earnings grew 2.8% with all provinces reporting growth over this period. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest growth while Alberta reported the slowest.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in company management, finance/insurance, and public administration in the first three months of the year (among industries with available data for this period). Average weekly earnings among payroll employees grew the fastest for company management and health/social assistance. Finance/insurance reported lower average weekly earnings, year-to-date.
(Note: data are not available for January 2026 for: professional/technical services.)
Nova Scotian average weekly earnings were below the national average for all reported industries except health/social assistance in the first three months of 2026 (average: 90.7%). The gap was smallest for company management (99.7% of the national average). The gap was largest for public administration (83.6% 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
<--- Return to Archive
