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June 18, 2024JOB VACANCIES AND WAGES, Q1 2024 Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate (seasonally adjusted) was 3.5% in Q1 2024, representing 15,685 job vacancies. Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate declined from 3.6% in Q4 2023.
Nationally, the job vacancy rate was 3.6%, down 0.2 percentage points from Q4 2023. The highest job vacancy rate was reported in Saskatchewan while the lowest job vacancy rates were in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Nova Scotia, North Shore and Southern Nova Scotia reported the highest job vacancy rates in Q1 2024. Halifax reported the lowest job vacancy rate at 3.2%.
From Q4 2023 to Q1 2024, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined by 1.3%. Nationally, job vacancies were down 3.6% with declines in all provinces except Prince Edward Island. The steepest decline was in Manitoba.
In Nova Scotia, job vacancies were down the most in the Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton economic regions. Southern Nova Scotia reported the largest increase in job vacancies in the first quarter of 2024.
Compared with Q1 2023, Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate was down by 1.2 percentage points. All provinces reported declining job vacancy rates from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024.
Within Nova Scotia, all regions except Cape Breton reported lower job vacancy rates from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024.
The number of job vacancies declined by 24.5% in Nova Scotia from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Nationally, the number of job vacancies fell by 22.3% with declines in all provinces. Quebec reported the largest percentage reduction in job vacancies while Saskatchewan reported the least decline.
Among Nova Scotia's economic regions, Halifax reported the largest year-over-year decline in job vacancies from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Cape Breton reported the only increase in job vacancies over the last year.
The average hourly wage offered on vacant positions (unadjusted for seasonality) was $24.95 in Nova Scotia during Q1 2024, this was up from $22.65 a year earlier. All provinces reported higher average hourly wages on vacant positions except Newfoundland and Labrador compared with Q1 2023.
Average hourly wages on vacant positions were $27.25 nationally, with the highest values in British Columbia and Ontario. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest average wages on vacant positions in Q1 2024.
Across Nova Scotia, average hourly wages on vacant positions were up for all economic regions. Q1 2024 wages were highest in Halifax and lowest in the Annapolis Valley economic region.
Average wages on vacant positions grew by 10.2% in Nova Scotia from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024. Nationally, average wages on vacant positions were up 7.3% over this period with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. New Brunswick reported the largest increase in average wages on vacant positions.
Cape Breton and Halifax reported the fastest year-over-year growth in average wages for vacant positions while Southern Nova Scotia reported the slowest growth.
In unadjusted job vacancy rates by industry in Nova Scotia, health/social/daycare and professional/technical services reported the highest job vacancy rates in Q1 2024. Education and public administration reported the lowest job vacancy rates. (Note: no data were available for utilities in Q1 2024 and for mining in Q1 2023).
Compared with Q1 2023, there were notable declines in job vacancy rates for Nova Scotia's accommodation/food service, administrative/support/call centres, finance/insurance and construction industries. Company management, arts/entertainment/recreation, public administration, education, and real estate/leasing were the only industries in Nova Scotia to report rising job vacancy rates over the last year while agriculture/forestry/fishing job vacancy rates were unchanged.
The number of job vacancies remained highest in health/social/daycare in Nova Scotia in Q1 2024.
Most industries in Nova Scotia reported a lower number of job vacancies, comparing Q1 2024 against Q1 2023. Across all industries, job vacancies were down 23.9% in unadjusted results. The steepest percentage declines were observed in mining, finance/insurance, and information/culture. Only public administration, arts/entertainment/recreation, education, company management, and real estate/leasing reported increases in job vacancies over this period and no change in agriculture/forestry/fishing.
Compared with national averages by industry, Nova Scotia's job vacancy rates were lower for all reporting industries except arts/entertainment/recreation, health/social/daycare, company management, professional/technical services, real estate/leasing, and manufacturing.
In Q1 2024, average hourly wages offered on vacant positions in Nova Scotia were highest for mining, professional/technical services, and public administration. Hourly wages for vacant positions in Nova Scotia were lowest for accommodation/food services.
From Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, average hourly wages offered on vacant positions in Nova Scotia were up for most industries (exceptions: company management, information/culture, transportation).
Growth in average hourly wages for vacant positions was strongest for mining, comparing Q1 2024 against Q1 2023. Company management reported the steepest percentage decline in hourly wages offered on vacant positions over this period.
Compared with national averages, average hourly wages on vacant Nova Scotia positions were lower for most industries (exceptions: public administration, arts/entertainment/recreation, accommodation/food services, mining). The gaps were largest in company management and information/culture.
The majority of job vacancies in Q1 2024 required no more than a high school education and less then a year of experience.
Comparing Q1 2024 against Q1 2023, job vacancies were down for all categories of educational requirements except university below and above bachelor as well as experience requirements greater than eight years. The largest percentage declines were for positions requiring less then a year of experience as well as for those with no minimum educational requirement.
Average hourly earnings for vacant positions were on average higher on increased experience and educational requirements.
Over the last year (comparing Q1 2024 against Q1 2023), average hourly wages were up most for positions requiring less then a year of experience as well as for those requiring a no minimum educational requirement. Wages were down for vacant positions requiring a university degree below and above a bachelor's level as well as for positions requiring 1-3 years, 3-5 years, and greater than 8 years of experience requirements.
Trends
Following the pandemic (when job vacancy data were not collected), there was a substantial rise in Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate. The national job vacancy rate also increased over this time. After peaking in early 2022, vacancy rates in both Nova Scotia and across Canada have declined steadily.
The number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia peaked at 22,190 (seasonally adjusted) in Q2 2022. Since then, the number of vacancies has fallen by over 6,500 with notable declines in the North Shore, Annapolis Valley and Halifax economic regions. Vacancies have been more stable in Southern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.
Growth in average hourly earnings for vacant positions across Nova Scotia has accelerated in the last two years.
Notes: Data collection activities were suspended from the start of the pandemic in March to September 2020. There remains a gap in the dataset for this survey.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0398-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate, by economic regions, quarterly, adjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0441-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, job vacancy rate, and average offered hourly wage by economic regions, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0442-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, job vacancy rate, and average offered hourly wage by industry sub-sector, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0443-01 Job vacancies, proportion of job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by occupation and selected characteristics, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0444-01 Job vacancies and average offered hourly wage by occupation (unit group), quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality
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