Job prospects Farm Hand - Harvesting in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "farm hand - harvesting" 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 good for Harvesting labourers (NOC 85101) in Nova Scotia for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few 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.
• Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

The cultivation of labour-intensive crops continues to generate a large number of temporary positions during the growing season each year. Jobs are often seasonal, short-term, physically demanding and may require working long hours. Opportunities are more common in rural areas of the province.

Here are some key facts about Harvesting labourers in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 900 people work in this occupation.
• Harvesting labourers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Agriculture (NAICS 111, 112, 1151, 1152): more than 95%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 67% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 33% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 21% of harvesting labourers work all year, while 79% 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 29 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of harvesting labourers are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 62% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 38% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 34% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 40% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 6% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 12% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 6% 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

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "farm hand - harvesting" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Learn more