Job prospects Orchard Worker in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "orchard worker" 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 an "orchard worker" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

Learn more