Current Situation
In 2020, Nova Scotia's labour force participation rate for 15-64-year-olds was 75.2 per cent, a decline over two percentage points compared to 2019. Participation rates fell due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Nova Scotia's participation rate was lower than the (revised) 2012 baseline of 76.7 per cent. The Canadian rate has remained relatively stable since 2012, but in 2020 it moved down to 77.4 per cent. Nova Scotia’s labour force participation rate gap with the national rate increased to 2.2 percentage points. The gap was larger than the (revised) baseline of 1.0 percentage points.
| Year | Canada (target) | Nova Scotia |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 76.2 | 72.1 |
| 2001 | 76.3 | 73.1 |
| 2002 | 77.4 | 73.7 |
| 2003 | 78.2 | 74.4 |
| 2004 | 78.1 | 75.6 |
| 2005 | 77.7 | 75 |
| 2006 | 77.7 | 74.1 |
| 2007 | 78.1 | 75.1 |
| 2008 | 78.3 | 75.4 |
| 2009 | 77.9 | 75.9 |
| 2010 | 77.7 | 76.4 |
| 2011 | 77.7 | 76.1 |
| 2012 | 77.7 | 76.7 |
| 2013 | 77.9 | 76.8 |
| 2014 | 77.6 | 76.2 |
| 2015 | 77.8 | 76 |
| 2016 | 77.9 | 75.5 |
| 2017 | 78.2 | 75.9 |
| 2018 | 78.2 | 76.4 |
| 2019 | 78.7 | 77.3 |
| 2020 | 77.4 | 75.2 |
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What This Means
The participation rate tells you the number of people of working age who are active in the labour market – either employed or unemployed – as a ratio of the total working-age population. The participation rate is driven largely by demographics but is also influenced by policy and business cycles. In recent years Nova Scotia's participation rate has increased because of an increase in the core working-age population attributable in improved migration results. There was a notable decline in 2020 due to a fall in labour force during COVID-19. The participation rate fell more for Nova Scotia than it did for Canada.
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