Nova ScotiaLabour1990–2025 · Annual

How did the participation rate for people aged 15 and over change in Nova Scotia?

Nova ScotiaThe map shifts from Canada to a regional view centred on Nova Scotia, with neighbouring provinces and territories left visible.
NSNova ScotiaBoundary source

The answer

Participation rate for people aged 15 and over decreased in Nova Scotia.

Overall change
-0.6 percentage points
Decrease
Start · 1990
61.9%
Latest · 2025
61.3%

What this answer shows

Measure
Participation rate for people aged 15 and over
Area shown
Nova Scotia
Period
1990–2025Annual
Unit
Percent

Selected details

Measure
Participation rate
Age group
15 years and over

Participation rate for people aged 15 and over fell from 61.9% to 61.3% between 1990 and 2025—a decrease of 0.6 percentage points. It reached an observed low of 59.4% in 1995 before ending at 61.3% in 2025.

Citation-ready data

Participation rate for people aged 15 and over in Nova Scotia

Annual · 36 observations · 1990–2025

Selected period2025
  • Participation rate for people aged 15 and over61.3%
Participation rate for people aged 15 and over fell from 61.9% to 61.3% between 1990 and 2025—a decrease of 0.6 percentage points. It reached an observed low of 59.4% in 1995 before ending at 61.3% in 2025. The chart covers 1990 to 2025. Values are shown in Percent.Percent58%60%62%64%66%199019962002200820132019202561.9%61.3%

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The vertical scale is focused on the observed values and does not start at zero.

Observed high
64.6%2012
Observed low
59.4%1995
Exact values36 observations · 1990–2025

Download every displayed observation in a spreadsheet-ready file.

Participation rate for people aged 15 and over in Nova Scotia
PeriodParticipation rate for people aged 15 and over
2025Latest61.3%
202461.8%
202361.5%
202261.8%
202162.5%
202060.4%
201961.9%
201861.3%
201761.7%
201661.7%
201562.6%
201463.2%
201364.1%
201264.6%
201164.3%
201064.5%
200964.5%
200863.9%
200763.5%
200662.8%
200563.4%
200463.9%
200363%
200262.6%
200162%
200061.2%
199960.8%
199860.5%
199759.7%
199659.4%
199559.4%
199460.1%
199360%
199260%
199161.6%
199061.9%

Across Canada

Compare provinces and territories

The same measure, across 10 places with available data.

About this data

How to read this measureThe participation rate is the number of labour force participants expressed as a percentage of the population 15 years of age and over. The participation rate for a particular group (age, gender, marital status, etcetera) is the number of labour force participants in that group expressed as a percentage of the population for that group. Estimates are percentages, rounded to the nearest tenth.

Data shown through 2025Table updated

These are the selections used for this answer. The full Statistics Canada table (opens in a new tab) (14-10-0020-01) contains other measures and breakdowns.

Adapted from Statistics Canada, Unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by educational attainment, annual, 2026-01-09. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.

How this answer was calculatedThe headline compares the first and last observations shown. Overall change is the last percentage minus the first and is reported in percentage points. Intermediate observations remain visible in the chart and exact values. This is descriptive and does not identify causes.