Statistics // Industry highlights — labour market trends and labour force

Labour Market Trends, April 2025

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on May 9, 2025. For full details from this dataset, click here.

Ages 15+ (April 2025 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted)

  • Nova Scotia’s seasonally adjusted employment fell by 8,500 (-1.6%) to 516,400 in April following an increase of 2,000 (+0.4%) in the previous month
  • Nova Scotia’s labour force fell by 2,400 (-0.4%) to 556,500 in April 2025
  • With employment falling faster than labour force, Nova Scotia’s unemployment rate increased 1.1 percentage points to 7.2% in April 2025

Age Cohorts (April 2025 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted)

  • Among youth (ages 15-24), employment was down 2,400 (-3.6%) while the labour force fell by 900 (-1.2%)
  •  In the core age group (ages 25-54), employment was down 5,500 (-1.6%) while the labour force fell 1,200 (-0.3%)
  • Among older workers (aged 55+) the labour force declined by 200 (-0.2%) while employment fell by 700 (-0.6%)

Class of Worker and Industry (April 2025 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted)

  • The April 2025 employment decline was due to decreasing private sector (-11,400, -3.5%) workers
  • Classified by industry, the only employment gains from March to April were in professional/technical services, public administration, health/social assistance, and utilities
  • There were widespread declines, led by accommodation/food services, construction, and education

Class of Worker and Industry (January-April 2025 vs January-April 2024, seasonally adjusted)

  • Compared to January-April 2024, gains were strongest for public sector workers (+8,800 or +6.6%), with smaller gains in self employment (+1,000 or +1.8%)
  • Gains in employment were strongest in construction, health care/social assistance, accomodations/food services, and public administration

Labour Force Survey, April 2025

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on May 9, 2025. For full details from this dataset, click here.

Month over month (April 2025 vs March 2025, seasonally adjusted)

In Nova Scotia,

  • The labour force decreased 2,400 (-0.4%) to 556,500
  • Employment decreased 8,500 (-1.6%) to 516,400
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 6,100 (+17.9%) to 40,100
  • The unemployment rate increased 1.1 percentage points to 7.2%

In Canada,

  • The labour force increased 46,700 (+0.2%) to 22,517,400
  • Employment increased 7,400 (+0.04%) to 20,969,300
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 39,300 (+2.6%) to 1,548,100
  • The unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%

Year over year (April 2025 vs April 2024)

In Nova Scotia,

  • The labour force decreased 400 (-0.1%)
  • Employment decreased 5,800 (-1.1%)
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 5,300 (+15.2%)
  • The unemployment rate increased 1.0 percentage points

In Canada,

  • The labour force increased 457,300 (+2.1%)
  • Employment increased 268,800 (+1.3%)
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 188,500 (+13.9%)
  • The unemployment rate increased 0.7 percentage points