Job prospects Psychologist in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "psychologist" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Nova Scotia

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Psychologists (NOC 31200) in Nova Scotia for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Factors behind the good outlook for psychologists include a growing public interest in mental health and the expected creation of billing codes for private psychologists under Nova Scotia's public health insurance program. Organizations in some areas of the province have reported difficulty recruiting psychologists, so those with less experience may improve their prospects by being willing to move to where opportunities arise. Nova Scotia is one of four provinces in which the title psychologist can be used with just a master's degree (and four years of supervised experience).

Here are some key facts about Psychologists in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 550 people work in this occupation.
• Psychologists mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 49%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 28%
  • Elementary and secondary schools (NAICS 6111): 12%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 86% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 14% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 72% of psychologists work all year, while 28% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 39% of psychologists are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 17% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 83% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: n/a
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: more than 95% compared to 10% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Nova Scotia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "psychologist" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

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