Job prospects Maintenance Labourer - Public Works in Nova Scotia

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This occupation includes job titles whose primary duties and responsibilities lead to positive environmental outcomes. Job Bank uses a list of occupations that were identified as "green" through a task-based analysis conducted by the United States’ Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which was recognized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and adapted to the National Occupational Classification (NOC) in Canada. This list may change over time. Learn more.

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "maintenance labourer - public works" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Nova Scotia

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Public works and maintenance labourers (NOC 75212) in Nova Scotia for the 2024-2026 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 moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
• Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

Positions in this occupation can be seasonal in nature, physically demanding, and/or include irregular hours of work, which can be deterrents to many jobseekers. Employers include the provincial and municipal governments as well as private subcontractors.  

Job prospects vary within the province, with an apparent shortage of younger workers in some communities and an ample pool of applicants in others. Pay and benefits tend to differ considerably between employers, and even between neighbouring municipalities; job opportunities with organizations that offer better pay tend to be competitive, even for applicants with training and experience.

Here are some key facts about Public works and maintenance labourers in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 650 people work in this occupation.
• Public works and maintenance labourers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other management and administrative services (NAICS 55, 56 except 5614 and 5617): 30%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 24%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 14%
  • Utilities (NAICS 22): 8%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 90% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 10% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 64% of public works and maintenance labourers work all year, while 36% 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 41 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 89% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 11% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 28% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 38% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 14% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 15% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Nova Scotia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology