# How did the participation rate for people aged 15 and over change in Nova Scotia? > Participation rate for people aged 15 and over decreased in Nova Scotia. 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. ## Answer scope - Geography: Nova Scotia (NS) - Period: 1990 to 2025 - Frequency: Annual - Source updated: 2026-01-09 - Measure: Participation rate - Age group: 15 years and over ## Key figures - Start · 1990: 61.9% - Latest · 2025: 61.3% - Overall change: -0.6 percentage points (Decrease) ## Exact observations | Period | Series | Source display value | Value as charted | Chart unit | | --- | --- | ---: | ---: | --- | | 1990 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.9% | 61.9 | % | | 1991 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.6% | 61.6 | % | | 1992 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60% | 60 | % | | 1993 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60% | 60 | % | | 1994 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60.1% | 60.1 | % | | 1995 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 59.4% | 59.4 | % | | 1996 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 59.4% | 59.4 | % | | 1997 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 59.7% | 59.7 | % | | 1998 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60.5% | 60.5 | % | | 1999 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60.8% | 60.8 | % | | 2000 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.2% | 61.2 | % | | 2001 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 62% | 62 | % | | 2002 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 62.6% | 62.6 | % | | 2003 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63% | 63 | % | | 2004 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63.9% | 63.9 | % | | 2005 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63.4% | 63.4 | % | | 2006 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 62.8% | 62.8 | % | | 2007 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63.5% | 63.5 | % | | 2008 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63.9% | 63.9 | % | | 2009 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 64.5% | 64.5 | % | | 2010 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 64.5% | 64.5 | % | | 2011 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 64.3% | 64.3 | % | | 2012 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 64.6% | 64.6 | % | | 2013 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 64.1% | 64.1 | % | | 2014 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 63.2% | 63.2 | % | | 2015 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 62.6% | 62.6 | % | | 2016 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.7% | 61.7 | % | | 2017 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.7% | 61.7 | % | | 2018 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.3% | 61.3 | % | | 2019 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.9% | 61.9 | % | | 2020 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 60.4% | 60.4 | % | | 2021 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 62.5% | 62.5 | % | | 2022 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.8% | 61.8 | % | | 2023 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.5% | 61.5 | % | | 2024 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.8% | 61.8 | % | | 2025 | Participation rate for people aged 15 and over | 61.3% | 61.3 | % | ## How to read this measure The 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. ## How this answer was calculated The 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. ## Source and provenance - Official source: [Statistics Canada table 14-10-0020-01]() - Table title: Unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by educational attainment, annual - Dataset identifier: 14100020 - Canonical human-readable answer: - Province and territory comparison: - Interpretation policy: this answer describes the selected observations; it does not infer causation. - Source acknowledgement: 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. ## Evidence version - Snapshot generated: 2026-08-30 - Snapshot SHA-256: `0e4c0c4aa4a18362e2d93bff9e378b9d9f059bfb6b1883a2146092543caca061` - Evidence changelog: - This answer URL represents the latest deployed evidence. Record the digest when reproducibility matters. ## Suggested citation Canada in Data. “How did the participation rate for people aged 15 and over change in Nova Scotia?” Nova Scotia. Source updated 2026-01-09. Canada in Data is an independent public-interest project and is not Statistics Canada. Verify consequential uses against the linked official table.