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May 29, 2026COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEES, Q1 2026 Quarter-over-quarter (Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Total compensation of employees for all industries increased by 1.8% in Nova Scotia, rising to $9.38 billion in Q1 2026. National employee compensation was up 1.2% in the first quarter of 2026. All provinces recorded quarter over quarter gains in employee compensation with the fastest growth in Prince Edward Island, and the slowest growth in Québec.
Year-over-year (Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025)
Nova Scotia's employee compensation for all industries was up 7.5% in the first quarter of 2026 when compared with the same period of 2025. National employee compensation grew 3.3%. All provinces recorded year-over-year gains in employee compensation in the first quarter of the year, with the fastest gain reported in Prince Edward Island, followed by Nova Scotia, and the slowest gain in Québec.
Year-over-year growth in total wages and salaries by industry show that the strongest contributions to rising payrolls came from professional/personal services, followed by health care/social assistance (which includes daycare). Wage and salary totals were down for utilities, federal government(excluding military) and wholesale/retail.
In percentage terms, construction and information/culture reported the fastest gains in Nova Scotia over this period.
Note that changes in employee compensation reflect changes in wages and salaries as well as changes in contributions to social insurance. Changes in wages and salaries include the effects of changing numbers of employees, changing hours worked and wage rates as well as effects from differences in pay period from one year to the next.
Trends
After the notable declines early in the pandemic, employee compensation growth picked up and experienced strong growth from 2021-2023. Over this period, there were some notable spikes in employee compensation monthly results, followed by subsequent corrections. Beginning in 2024, monthly results became less volatile and growth in employee compensation slowed, with growth reaccelerating beginning in mid-2025.
On a year-over-year basis, employee compensation growth was 8.5% in March 2026.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0205-01 Wages, salaries and employers' social contributions (x 1,000)