Get the Facts on Halifax's Economy
To learn more about Halifax’s economy and get a definitive look at Halifax’s economic and community progress, read the Halifax Index 2022.
Halifax Economic Dashboard
See an overview of the most up-to-date economic statistics on Halifax
Halifax Economic Snapshot
(Updated: December 2022)
Home Prices
Between October and November 2022, the average home price in Halifax fell 4.9% to $491,978. This is 18.5% lower than the peak observed in April 2022. However, the average is still 0.7% higher than November 2021 and 25.0% higher than November 2020. Halifax remains a seller's market with a sales-to-new listings ratio higher than 60.
GDP
The latest GDP estimates published by the Conference Board of Canada show that Halifax's GDP grew 6.5% in 2021, compared to 5.8% in Nova Scotia, and 4.5% across Canada. This increase in GDP is attributed mainly to the easing of health restrictions and sustained population growth. They forecast that 2022 will see GDP grow by 3.2% in Halifax, 3.2% in Nova Scotia, and 3.0% in Canada.
Vacancy Rate
The overall office vacancy rate in Halifax was 13.3% in Q3 2022, 2.3 percentage points lower than Q3 2021. The overall average asking rent increased $0.46 per sq. ft., since a year ago, but average class A rents fell $0.10 sq. ft. The Industrial vacancy rate was 4.5% in Q3 2022, 0.7 percentage points higher than a year ago, and average gross rent increased $1.50 sq. ft.
Labour Force Statistics
The unemployment rate in November 2022 was 4.7%, 1.2 percentage points lower than a year ago and 0.5 percentage points lower than in October. In terms of employment, November added 10,900 jobs in Halifax since a year ago, most of which were in health care and social assistance (+3,600 positions), and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+2,800). 6,400 positions were lost in transportation and warehousing over the same period. Halifax's participation rate was 66.7%.
Inflation
Halifax saw an inflation rate of 7.7% in October, 0.4 percentage points higher than the previous month. Inflation rates were 7.7% and 6.9% for Nova Scotia and Canada, respectively.
Retail Sales
Retail sales in Nova Scotia declined for the third straight month in September, falling by 7.0% since August 2022, and down 0.6% since September 2021. Year over year, the largest increase was in health and personal care stores (+15.7%), while the largest decline was in electronics and appliance stores (-14.4%). It is important to note that these changes are in terms of dollars spent and not volume of sales; changes in retail sales levels may in some cases be largely driven by movements in prices.
