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September 28, 2023PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS, JULY 2023 Monthly (July 2023 vs June 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 452,100 payroll employees in July 2023, down 0.3% (-1,190) compared to June 2023. Canada had 18.07 million employees, nearly unchanged from June 2023. There were declines in seven provinces, led by Prince Edward Island. The largest gain was in Manitoba.
Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings were $1,068.36 in July of 2023, a decline of $1.99 (-0.2%) from revised June 2023 results.
Nationally, average weekly earnings were $1,215.02, an increase of 0.8% (+$10.14) from average weekly earnings in June 2023. Eight provinces reported gains in average weekly earnings. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island reported the biggest gains while Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia reported the declines.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings in July 2023 were second lowest among provinces (ahead of only Prince Edward Island). Alberta reported the highest average weekly earnings.
Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in company management, professional and technical services, finance and insurance, and information and culture industries. The lowest average weekly earnings were reported in Nova Scotia's accommodations and food service industries, arts, entertainment and recreation, and retail trade.
In July 2023, Nova Scotia's average weekly wages were 87.9% of the national average. Nova Scotia average weekly wages were below the comparable national average for every industry. The smallest gaps were in health/social assistance, accommodation and food services, and company management. The largest gaps were in forestry/logging (68.5% of the national average) and wholesale trade (84.7% of the national average).
Year-over-year (July 2023 vs July 2022)
Compared with the same month in 2022, Nova Scotia's payroll employment grew by 3.3% (+14,570) in July 2023. This was higher than the national average gain of 2.5%. All provinces reported growth in payroll employment, with the fastest gain in Alberta and Prince Edward Island while the slowest gain was in Quebec.
Among the 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.
Forestry and logging as well as arts, entertainment and recreation and company management had the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment in Nova Scotia. Finance and insurance reported the largest percentage decline in payroll employment.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.0% in Nova Scotia from July 2022 to July 2023. This was weaker than the national pace of 4.3%.
Average weekly wages grew by 4.3% across Canada from July 2022 to July 2023. There were gains in each province, with the fastest rise in British Columbia. New Brunswick and Saskatchewan reported the slowest gain.
Average weekly wages were up 6.3% in Nova Scotia's goods-producing industries and 3.3% in Nova Scotia's services-producing industries. Most of the industries reported year-over-year growth in average weekly wages with the largest increases in information and culture as well as accommodation and food services and company management industries. Average weekly wages were down the most for real estate and rental and leasing.
Year-to-date (January-July 2023 vs January-July 2022)
In January-July 2023, Nova Scotia's payroll employment increased 2.9% over January-July 2022. Across Canada, payroll employment growth was 3.3% with gains in all provinces. Alberta reported the fastest rise in payroll employment while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the slowest growth rate.
In January-July 2023, forestry and logging, construction as well as arts, entertainment and recreation, and professional and technical services industries reported the fastest employment growth in percentage terms compared to the same period in 2022. Information and culture and finance and insurance reported the only percentage declines.
In January-July 2023, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings increased by 3.9% compared to the same period in 2022. National average weekly earnings were up 3.0% in the first seven months of the year with gains in all provinces. Manitoba reported the fastest gain in average weekly earnings while Alberta reported the slowest rises.
In January-July 2023, manufacturing, company management, and accommodation and food services reported the fastest percentage gains in average weekly earnings compared to the same period in 2022. Public administration and real estate, rental and leasing reported the percentage declines.
In January-July 2023, Nova Scotia's average weekly earnings were highest in company management as well as in professional and technical services industries. Nova Scotians' average weekly earnings averaged 88.2% of the national value for all industries in January-July 2023. All Nova Scotia industries reported average weekly earnings below their national counterparts. The gaps were narrowest in retail trade as well as health and social assistance and company management. Public administration and real estate, rental and leasing workers in Nova Scotia reported the largest gaps 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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