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February 23, 2023PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2022 Month-over-month (December 2022 vs November 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 445,645 payroll employees in December 2022, up 0.7% (+3,018) compared to November 2022. Nova Scotia reported the fastest growth in payroll employment among provinces in December. Canada had 17.84 million employees, up 0.5% from November with gains in nine provinces. Only Prince Edward Island reported a decline.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,033.77 in December of 2022, an increase of $1.51 (0.1%) over November.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,173.90, a decline of 0.4% (-$4.21) from average weekly earnings in November. Seven out of ten provinces reported declines in average weekly earnings. British Columbia reported the largest drop while Quebec reported the fastest growth.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in company management, finance and insurance and professional and technical services industries. The lowest average weekly earnings were reported in Nova Scotia's accommodations and food service industries and in retail trade.
In December 2022, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 88.1% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly wages were below the comparable national average for every industry except arts and recreation. The largest gap was in forestry and logging where Nova Scotia average weekly wages were 75.3% of the national average for that industry.
Year-over-year (December 2022 vs December 2021)
Compared with the same month in 2021, Nova Scotia's payroll employment grew by 4.2% (+17,912) in December 2022. This was slower than the national average gain of 4.6%. All provinces reported growth in payroll employment, with the fastest gains in Alberta and the slowest growth in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.
Among the standard industries reported by Statistics Canada, Nova Scotia's largest industries of employment were health care and social assistance (which includes daycares), followed by retail trade and education.
Accommodation and food services as well as professional and technical services industries contributed the most to year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia. Arts and recreation industries reported the largest percentage growth while forestry and logging industries reported the largest percentage fall in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 3.6% in Nova Scotia from December 2021 to December 2022. This was slightly faster than the national pace.
Average weekly wages grew by 3.4% across Canada from December 2021 to December 2022. There were gains in each province, with the fastest rise in Newfoundland and Labrador. British Columbia reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly wages were up 8.4% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and 2.7% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. All industries reported positive year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increases in construction as well as forestry and logging industries. Public administration reported the smallest gain (essentially unchanged).
Annual (2022 vs 2021, annual average)
Over all of 2022, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 4.6% to an average of 437,380 for the year. Across Canada, payroll employment growth was 6.4% with gains in all provinces. British Columbia reported the fastest rise in payroll employment on average in 2022 while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest growth.
On average in 2022, accommodation and food services as well as arts and recreation industries reported the fastest employment growth in percentage terms. Forestry and logging reported the largest percentage decline (though this is a comparatively small industry for employment in total).
Across all of 2022, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings increased by 4.1% compared with 2021. National average weekly earnings were up 3.2% on average in 2022 with gains in all provinces. New Brunswick reported the fastest gain in average weekly earnings in 2022 while Ontario and Alberta reported the slowest rises.
On average in 2022, company management, professional and technical services and retail trade reported the fastest percentage gains in average weekly earnings. All industries reported higher average weekly earnings in 2022 except for wholesale trade.
On average through 2022, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in finance and insurance as well as in professional and technical services industries. Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings averaged 87.4% of the national value for all industries in 2022. All industries in Nova Scotia reported average weekly earnings below their national counterparts. The gaps were narrowest in retail trade, health care and social assistance (including daycares) as well as finance and insurance industries. Forestry and logging workers in Nova Scotia reported the largest gap in average weekly earnings compared with the national average for the industry.
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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