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October 30, 2025JOB VACANCIES, AUGUST 2025 Monthly (August 2025 vs July 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 14,515 job vacancies in August 2025 with a vacancy rate of 3.1%, down from 3.2% in July and the highest among provinces.
Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 457,440 positions in August with the national job vacancy rate unchanged at 2.6%. Six provinces reported lower job vacancy rates in August, with two provinces reporting higher job vacancy rates and one unchanged from the previous month. The lowest vacancy rate was in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Note: Data for Prince Edward Island was not published for July 2025.
When compared to July 2025, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia was down 1.1%. National job vacancies fell 2.4% (-11,325 vacant positions). Job vacancies fell in seven provinces with the fastest decline in Manitoba. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest growth in job vacancies.
Year-over-year (August 2025 vs August 2024)
When compared to August 2024, the job vacancy rate in Nova Scotia grew 0.2 percentage points. Nationally, the job vacancy rate declined 0.4 percentage points compared to August 2024. All provinces except Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island reported lower job vacancy rates compared to one year ago. British Columbia and Saskatchewan reported the largest percentage point reduction in the job vacancy rate.
When compared to August 2024, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia grew 6.4% or by 870 vacancies. National job vacancies declined 15.2% or by 82,090 vacant positions. Seven provinces reported declines in the number of vacancies over the twelve-month period ending in August, led by Newfoundland and Labrador. Nova Scotia reported the fastest increase in job vacancies compared to August 2024.
Trend
Nationally, job vacancy rates have trended downward after peaking in April-May 2022.
Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate peaked in the spring of 2022 and has also been on a downward trend. Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate has been above the national average for the most recent five months.
Nova Scotia's job vacancies peaked at 22,775 in July 2022 and have been trending down. Job vacancies have declined at a slower pace from the end of 2023 through 2024. Job vacancies have risen since April and stabilized in recent months.
Canada job vacancy rate and job vacancies by industry, August 2025
Nationally, health care/social assistance, accommodation/food services, and personal/repair services had the highest job vacancy rates. The lowest vacancy rates were in education, company management, and mining/oil/gas. Information/culture was the only sector to report a higher job vacancy rate compared to one year ago, while all other reporting industries reported lower job vacancy rates compared to one year ago at the national level.
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 97,325 in August 2025 and experienced the most significant decline in the number of vacancies.
Notes: The job vacancy rate is the percentage of job positions (both filled and vacant) that are vacant. A higher job vacancy rate indicates a tighter labour market where it is more difficult for employers to find suitable candidates for the positions offered. A lower job vacancy rate signals labour market slack and potentially more job seekers competing for each vacant position.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection was suspended from April to October 2020. There remains a break in this data series.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0432-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by provinces and territories, monthly, adjusted for seasonality, Table 14-10-0406-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by industry sector, monthly, adjusted for seasonality
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