Job prospects Senior Accountant in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "senior accountant" 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 Financial auditors and accountants (NOC 11100) 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 small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

The Halifax area provides more opportunities within this occupational category, with its strong government presence and a high number of national, regional, and local firms. Areas outside the city may have fewer opportunities, especially with larger firms, but that is likely balanced by a lower supply of experienced workers. Having a recognized credential, such as a CPA, is important to employers, as well as having strong interpersonal skills and prior work experience, particularly with large, international corporations. Non-designated accountants may have greater difficulty advancing their career into management roles. While hiring can be sporadic throughout the year and depend on budgets and major projects, opportunities do occur regularly and have been expanding. Public accounting is an area that seems to have trouble finding talent, particularly those skilled in assurance.

Here are some key facts about Financial auditors and accountants in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 4,250 people work in this occupation.
• Financial auditors and accountants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services (NAICS 5412): 31%
  • Monetary Authorities - central bank and securities, commodity contracts and other intermediation and related activities (NAICS 521, 522, 523): 9%
  • Real Estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53): 6%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 6%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 5%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 93% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 7% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 82% of financial auditors and accountants work all year, while 18% 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 48 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 13% of financial auditors and accountants are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 46% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 54% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: less than 5% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 11% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 62% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 22% 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 "senior accountant" Financial auditors and accountants (NOC 11100) or across Canada.

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