Labour

Labour Force By Occupation
Traditionally, the Annapolis Digby economy has been resource based, harvesting goods from the sea and land. Today, new business opportunities in bioenergy, experiential tourism, geomatics, manufacturing, aquaculture, and niche agricultural industries are opening up. More than two-thirds of our workforce is employed in occupations outside of the traditional industries of fishing, mining, forestry and agriculture.

The trades, transport, and equipment operator job category has seen significant growth between 1996 and 2004. Another category of above average growth is in the natural and applied sciences sector. These changes are byproducts of the improving educational and skill sets of the region’s workforce.

Health Canada states that the Maritime Provinces (which includes Nova Scotia) “have a workforce that works the hardest and longest, but are the happiest – with their jobs and life in general … managers in the Maritimes have the most employees reporting to them but have the highest level of job satisfaction and were less likely to report stress or burnout.” (The Ottawa Citizen, Nov. 19, 2003)

Our Workforce
Dun & Bradstreet describes Nova Scotia labour as:

• Loyal
• Well educated
• Less unionized than any other Canadian jurisdiction
• Low turnover and low absenteeism
• Costs and benefits the most favourable in Canada

We Are Highly Skilled
Nova Scotia has:

• The highest number of universities per capita in Canada
• 11 universities and 14 Community College campuses
• University enrollment of over 37,000 students
• Community College enrollment of over 21,000 and expanding
• Over 15,000 post-secondary graduates enter the workforce each year

• Three campuses of the Nova Scotia Community College
• Université Sainte-Anne, Nova Scotia’s only francophone university is located a ten minute drive from the Western Valley.
• In addition there are seven other universities less than two hours drive from the Western Valley region. This includes:
  • Acadia University, Wolfville
  • Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax
  • Dalhousie University, Halifax
  • Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax
  • Mount St. Vincent University, Halifax
  • St. Mary’s University, Halifax
  • University of Kings College, Halifax

Education Levels
High quality educational establishments located in and nearby offer an abundance of learning opportunities in a variety of disciplines. As well, the establishment of the Adult High Schools and a consistent focus on lifelong learning has lead to continuous achievement in the workforce’s education level. The Western Valley’s workforce is well positioned to meet the needs of specialized manufacturing and industrial companies as well as advancing traditional industries.

Labour Market Bulletins
These reports provide a brief synopsis of local labour market conditions and are published on a monthly basis using Labour Force Survey data from Statistics Canada and local media information.

Historical reports are available here. More information is also available at:

www.labourmarketinformation.ca
www.informationmarchetravail.ca

To contact Service Canada:

Glenn McMullen
Labour Market Information
Service Canada
Tel: 902.679.5516