Job prospects Family Physician in Newfoundland and Labrador

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "family physician" in Newfoundland and Labrador or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be very good for General practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) in Newfoundland and Labrador 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 small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Health care demands from an aging population and a restricted supply of workers contribute to opportunities for this occupation. There are ongoing reports in the media of doctor shortages throughout the province, with thousands of people with no family physician. The absence of general practitioners and family physicians tends to be more acute in rural communities since these professionals often migrate to regions with medical institutions and health care centres. Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has been actively recruiting, using a variety of incentives such as cash bonuses.

Here are some key facts about General practitioners and family physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador:

• Approximately 1,200 people work in this occupation.
• General practitioners and family physicians mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 65%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 32%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 93% compared to 83% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 7% compared to 17% for all occupations
• 66% of general practitioners and family physicians work all year, while 34% work only part of the year, compared to 56% and 43% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 40 weeks for all occupations.
• 51% of general practitioners and family physicians are self-employed compared to an average of 8% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 50% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 50% 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: n/a
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: more than 95% compared to 7% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Newfoundland and Labrador 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 "family physician" in Newfoundland and Labrador or across Canada.

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