Job prospects Occupational Therapist (OT) in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "occupational therapist (OT)" in Nova Scotia or Canada.

Job opportunities in Nova Scotia

Note: These outlooks were updated on November 29^th, 2023. Learn more about our methodology.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be good for Occupational therapists (NOC 31203) in Nova Scotia for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

New graduates may need to work part-time for a year or more to accumulate enough experience to qualify for a full-time position. Jobseekers may face some competition for openings in Halifax due to the large supply of postsecondary graduates, while a shortage of applicants in some smaller communities sometimes results in positions remaining vacant for longer periods of time. Opportunities for occupational therapists in the private sector are diverse, with a growing number of working in mental health, addictions, and collaborative care settings.

Here are some key facts about Occupational therapists in Nova Scotia:

• Approximately 950 people work in this occupation.
• Occupational therapists mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 54%
  • Ambulatory health care services (NAICS 621): 28%
  • Nursing and residential care facilities (NAICS 623): 12%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 86% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 14% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 68% of occupational therapists work all year, while 32% 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 42 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 11% of occupational therapists are self-employed compared to an average of 11% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 10% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 90% 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: 41% compared to 20% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 57% compared to 10% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Nova Scotia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "occupational therapist (OT)" in Nova Scotia or Canada.

Learn more