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August 27, 2026PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, JUNE 2026 Monthly (June 2026 vs May 2026, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 469,622 payroll employees in June 2026, up 0.16% (+738) compared to May 2026. Canada had 18.42 million employees, up 0.03% from May 2026 with gains in five provinces. The fastest gains were reported in Québec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The fastest decline was reported in Manitoba.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were $1,229.95 in June 2026, a gain of $10.32 (+0.85%) from May 2026.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,343.86, a gain of 0.57% (+$7.56) from average weekly earnings in May 2026. Eight provinces reported gains in average weekly earnings, with the fastest gain in Newfoundland and Labrador. The fastest decline was reported in Manitoba.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in June 2026 were the third lowest among provinces, ahead of Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. Alberta reported the highest average weekly earnings.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in utilities, company management, and mining/quarrying/oil/gas industries. The lowest average weekly earnings were reported in Nova Scotia's accommodations/food service, retail trade, and arts/entertainment/recreation industries.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's information/culture and real estate/rental/leasing sectors.)
In June 2026, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were 91.5% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly earnings were below the comparable national average for every industry except health/social assistance and education. The largest gap was reported in mining/quarrying/oil/gas (77.3% of the national average).
Year-over-year (June 2026 vs June 2025)
Compared with the same month in 2025, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased by 1.0% (+4,731) in June 2026. Nationally, payroll employment rose 0.8%, with gains in all provinces except Prince Edward Island. The fastest gains were reported in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
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 information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing and are not available for Nova Scotia's utilities, mining, and arts/entertainment/recreation sectors for June 2025.)
Company management and construction had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia. Forestry/logging reported the fastest decline in payroll employment.
Average weekly earnings grew by 6.8% in Nova Scotia from June 2025 to June 2026. This was stronger than the national pace of 3.4%.
There were average weekly wage gains in each province. Nova Scotia reported the fastest gain while Alberta reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly earnings were up 5.5% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and up 7.1% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. All of the reported industries, except public administration, had year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings with the largest increases in education and company management.
(Note: data are not available for Nova Scotia's information/culture, real estate/rental/leasing sectors and are not available for June 2025 for: utilities, mining, forestry/logging, and arts/entertainment/recreation.)
Year-to-date (January-June 2026 vs January-June 2025)
In the first six months of 2026, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 1.2%. This was faster than the national average of 0.5% as nine provinces reported growth. The fastest year-to-date growth was reported in Saskatchewan. The only decline was reported in Prince Edward Island.
Company management and construction reported the fastest growth in payroll employment in the first six months of 2026 in Nova Scotia. The fastest decline was reported in transportation.
In January-June 2026, average weekly earnings grew 5.6% in Nova Scotia compared to the same period last year, the fastest gain among provinces. National average weekly earnings grew 3.1% with all provinces reporting growth over this period. The slowest gain was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in company management, finance/insurance, and public administration in the first six months of the year (among industries with available data for this period). Average weekly earnings among payroll employees grew the fastest for company management, health/social assistance, and education. 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 six months of 2026 (average: 91.0%). The gap was smallest for company management (98.6% of the national average). The gap was largest for public administration (83.5% 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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