Job prospects Clinical Occupational Therapist in Nova Scotia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "clinical occupational therapist" 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 Occupational therapists (NOC 31203) in Nova Scotia for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several 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.

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

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "clinical occupational therapist" in Nova Scotia or across Canada.

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