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December 16, 2024JOB VACANCIES AND WAGES, Q3 2024 Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate (seasonally adjusted) was 3.3% in Q3 2024, representing 14,550 job vacancies.
Nationally, the job vacancy rate was 3.1%, down 0.1 percentage point from Q2 2024. The highest job vacancy rate was reported in British Columbia while the lowest job vacancy rate was in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and North Shore regions reported the highest job vacancy rates in Q3 2024. Halifax reported the lowest job vacancy rate at 2.8%.
The number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined by 6.7% from Q2 to Q3 2024, with declines in all provinces. Nationally, job vacancies were down 5.5% with the steepest decline in Saskatchewan and the least decline in Alberta.
In Nova Scotia, job vacancies were down in all regions except in Cape Breton. Halifax posted the largest decline in job vacancies in the third quarter of 2024.
Compared with Q3 2023, Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate was down by 0.7 percentage points to 3.3%. Nationally, job vacancy rate was down to 3.1%; all provinces reported declining job vacancy rates from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024.
Within Nova Scotia, all regions except Cape Breton reported lower job vacancy rates from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024.
The number of job vacancies declined by 18.5% in Nova Scotia from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024. Nationally, the number of job vacancies fell by 23.0% with declines in all provinces. Québec reported the largest percentage reduction in job vacancies while British Columbia reported the least decline.
Among Nova Scotia's economic regions, Halifax reported the largest year-over-year decline in job vacancies from Q3 2023 to Q3 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 $24.60 in Nova Scotia during Q3 2024, this was up from $23.50 a year earlier. All provinces reported higher average hourly wages on vacant positions compared with Q3 2023.
Average hourly wages on vacant positions were $27.55 nationally, with the highest values in British Columbia and Ontario. Prince Edward Island and Manitoba reported the lowest average wages on vacant positions in Q3 2024.
Across Nova Scotia, average hourly wages on vacant positions were up for all economic regions. Q3 2024 wages were highest in Halifax and lowest in the Annapolis Valley economic region.
Average wages on vacant positions grew by 4.7% in Nova Scotia from Q3 2023 to Q3 2024. Nationally, average wages on vacant positions were up 7.6% over this period with gains in all provinces. Saskachewan reported the largest increase in average wages on vacant positions while Manitoba, Alberta and Nova Scotia reported the slowest growths.
North Shore reported the fastest year-over-year growth in average wages for vacant positions while Halifax reported the slowest growth.
In unadjusted job vacancy rates by industry in Nova Scotia, health/social/daycare, personal/repair services, and transportation reported the highest job vacancy rates in Q3 2024. Education, wholesale, and agriculture/forestry/fishing reported the lowest job vacancy rates. (Note: no data were available for utilities for these periods, or for mining in Q3 2023).
Compared with Q3 2023, there were notable declines in job vacancy rates for Nova Scotia's construction, administrative/support/call centers, and accommodation/food services industries. Personal/repair services and arts/recreation reported the greatest rising job vacancy rates over the last year while health/social/daycare job vacancy rate was unchanged.
The number of job vacancies remained highest in health/social/daycare in Nova Scotia in Q3 2024.
Most industries in Nova Scotia reported a lower number of job vacancies, comparing Q3 2024 against Q3 2023. Across all industries, job vacancies were down 19.2% in unadjusted results. The steepest percentage declines were observed in wholesale, construction as well as agriculture/forestry/fishing. Arts/entertainment/recreation, reported the largest increase in job vacancies over this period. (Note: no data were available for utilities for these periods, or for mining in Q3 2024).
Compared with national averages by industry, Nova Scotia's job vacancy rates were higher for most reporting industries. (Note: no data were available for utilities for these periods, or for mining in Q3 2024).
In Q3 2024, average hourly wages offered on vacant positions in Nova Scotia were highest for utilities, professional/technical services, and information/culture. Hourly wages for vacant positions in Nova Scotia were lowest for accommodation/food services.
From Q3 2023 to Q3 2024, average hourly wages offered on vacant positions in Nova Scotia were up for most industries. Note that some quarterly data are unavailable for mining/oil/gas.
Growth in average hourly wages for vacant positions was strongest for real estate/rental/leasing and information/culture, comparing Q3 2024 against Q3 2023. Administrative/support/call centers 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 all industries except education. The gaps were largest in wholesale and construction. Note that some quarterly data are unavailable for mining/oil/gas in Nova Scotia.
The majority of job vacancies in Q3 2024 required no more than a highschool education and 3 years or less of experience.
Comparing Q3 2024 against Q3 2023, job vacancies were down for all categories of educational requirements except university bachelor degree which remained unchanged. Among experience requirements, vacancies were down for all experience levels except more than eight years. The largest percentage declines were for positions requiring no minimum education as well as for those requiring less than a year experience.
Average hourly earnings for vacant positions were on average higher on increased experience and educational requirements.
Over the last year (comparing Q3 2024 against Q3 2023), average hourly wages were up most for positions requiring less than 1 year and 5 to 8 years of experience as well as for those requiring no more than a highschool education and university above bachelor. Wages were down for vacant positions requiring a university degree below a bachelor to collage level as well as for positions requiring 1 to 3 years of experience.
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. Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate has declined to 3.3% and remained above national average for the past two quarters.
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 almost 7,640 with notable declines in the Southern Nova Scotia, North Shore, Annapolis Valley and Halifax economic regions. Vacancies have been grown in 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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