Statistics // Industry highlights – Labour market and building permits

Labour Market Trends, March 2025

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on April 4, 2025. For full details from this dataset, click here.

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

  • Nova Scotia’s seasonally adjusted employment rose by 2,000 (+0.4%) to 524,900 in March following a decline of 4,300 (-0.8%) in the previous month
  • Nova Scotia’s labour force fell by 1,100 (-0.2%) to 558,900 in March 2025
  • With employment rising and labour force falling, Nova Scotia’s unemployment rate declined 0.5 percentage points to 6.1% in March 2025

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

  • Among youth (ages 15-24), employment was down 300 (-0.4%) while the labour force fell by 600 (-0.8%)
  • In the core age group (ages 25-54), employment was up 2,700 (+0.8%) while the labour force rose by 100 (+0.03%)
  • Among older workers (aged 55+) the labour force declined by 600 (-0.5%) while employment fell by 400 (-0.3%)

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

  • Classified by industry, the largest employment gains from February to March were in business support/call centres, personal/repair services, and forestry/fishing/mining
  • The largest declines were in wholesale/retail, construction, and accommodation/food services

Class of Worker and Industry (March 2025 vs March 2024, seasonally adjusted)

  • Over the last 12 months, employment was up the most for construction, health/social assistance, transportation/warehousing and forestry/fishing/mining
  • The largest declines were in wholesale/retail, manufacturing, personal/repair services, and finance/insurance/real estate

Labour Force Survey, March 2025

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on April 4, 2025. For full details from this dataset, click here.

Month Over Month (March 2025 vs February 2025, seasonally adjusted)

In Nova Scotia,

  • The labour force decreased 1,100 (-0.2%) to 558,900
  • Employment increased 2,000 (+0.4%) to 524,900
  • The number of unemployed persons decreased 3,200 (-8.6%) to 34,000

In Canada,

  • The labour force increased 3,500 (+0.0%) to 22,470,700
  • Employment decreased 32,600 (-0.2%) to 20,961,900
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 36,100 (+2.5%) to 1,508,800

Year Over Year (March 2025 vs March 2024)

In Nova Scotia,

  • The labour force decreased 1,300 (-0.2%)
  • Employment increased 900 (+0.2%)
  • The number of unemployed persons decreased 2,300 (-6.3%)

In Canada,

  • The labour force increased 513,800 (+2.3%)
  • Employment increased 347,400 (+1.7%)
  • The number of unemployed persons increased 166,500 (+12.4%)
Building Permits, February 2025

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on April 10, 2025. For full details from this dataset, click here.

Monthly (seasonally adjusted, February 2025 vs January 2025)

  • Nova Scotia’s total building permits (residential and non-residential) fell 4.5 % to $320.7 million
  • Halifax permits rose 4.7% to $206.5 million while permits outside the city dropped 17.7% to $114.2 million
  • National permits grew 2.9% to $13.08 billion

  • Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permits fell 5.2% to $118.5 million
    • Halifax permits declined 6.0% to $47.6 million
    • Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 4.7% to $70.9 million
  • National non-residential building permit values grew 15.3% to $4.67 billion

Year-to-date (January-February 2025 vs January-February 2024)

  • Nova Scotia’s total building permits (residential and non-residential) were down 2.9% in the first two months of the year comparing with the same period in 2024
  • Halifax permits rose 2.2% and outside the city permit values decreased 10.2%
  • National permits were up 11.6%
    • Building permit values were up in every province except Nova Scotia

  • Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permits rose 48.5% in the first two months of 2025 (compared with the same period in 2024)
  • Halifax permits increased 21.6% while non-residential permits outside the city rose 74.6%
  • National non-residential building permit values declined 3.4%

Trends

  • Nova Scotia’s non-residential building permit values started to rise in early 2023 before reaching a plateau through the end of the year
  • Non-residential permit values reached a plateau in Halifax while declining in the rest of Nova Scotia, resulting in a continuation of flat trend for most of 2024
  • Non-residential permits have trended up in recent months due to notable growth outside the city
  • In Halifax, non-residential permits reached a peak and have been trending down for several months
  • Commercial projects and institutional/governmental projects have been declining in recent months