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January 30, 2025JOB VACANCIES, NOVEMBER 2024 Monthly (November 2024 vs October 2024 vs, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia had 12,765 job vacancies in November 2024 with a vacancy rate of 2.7%. Nova Scotia's vacancy rate was unchanged from the previous month. Canadian employers were actively recruiting for 518,170 positions in November with a vacancy rate of 2.9%. The national job vacancy rate was unchanged in November 2024 with six provinces reporting higher vacancy rates from the previous month. The highest vacancy rate was reported in British Columbia, while the lowest vacancy rate was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
When compared to October 2024, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 0.8% (-100 jobs). National job vacancies rose 0.8% (-3,950 jobs). Job vacancies rose in five provinces with the fastest increase in Newfoundland and Labrador. Five provinces reported lower vacancies compared to the previous month, including Nova Scotia, with the fastest declines in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Year-over-year (November 2024 vs November 2023)
When compared to November 2023, the job vacancy rate in Nova Scotia declined 0.4 percentage points. Nationally, the job vacancy rate declined from 3.8% to 2.9%. All provinces except Prince Edward Island reported lower job vacancy rates compared to one year ago.
When compared to November 2023, the number of job vacancies in Nova Scotia declined 11.4% or 1,635 vacancies. National job vacancies declined 22.9% or 153,625 vacant jobs. All provinces except Prince Edward Island saw declines in the number of vacancies over the twelve-month period ending in November. In percentage terms, Saskatchewan declined the most compared to November 2023, and Nova Scotia the least.
Trend
Nationally, job vacancy rates have trended downward after peaking in March-May 2022. In November 2024, the job vacancy rate remained at its lowest level since October 2017.
Nova Scotia's job vacancy rate peaked in the spring of 2022 and has also been on a downward trend. The Nova Scotia job vacancy rate has been below the national rate for most of this period. The November 2024 vacancy rate in Nova Scotia was at its lowest level since November 2020.
Nova Scotia's job vacancies peaked at 22,715 in June 2022 and have been trending down. Job vacancies have declined at a slower pace in 2024.
Canada job vacancy rate and job vacancies by industry, November 2024
Nationally, health care/social assistance, accommodation/food services, and personal/repair services had the highest job vacancy rates. The lowest vacancy rates were in utilities and education.
Health care and social assistance had the highest number of vacancies at 115,960 in November 2024. Compared to November 2023, the number of vacancies declined in every industry for which data were available.
Notes: The job vacancy rate is the percentage of job positions (both filled and vacant) that are vacant. A higher job vacancy rate indicates a tighter labour market where it is more difficult for employers to find suitable candidates for the positions offered. A lower job vacancy rate signals labour market slack and potentially more job seekers competing for each vacant position.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection was suspended from April to October 2020. There remains a break in this data series.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0432-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by provinces and territories, monthly, adjusted for seasonality, Table 14-10-0406-01 Job vacancies, payroll employees, and job vacancy rate by industry sector, monthly, adjusted for seasonality
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