Rates for WCB coverage in Nova Scotia are holding steady for 2025, at $2.65 per $100 of assessable payroll.

The rate has been stable for more than two decades, as we work to ensure a financially sustainable system for the long term. 

Under Nova Scotia’s rate model, industries with high claim costs pay more, and industries with low claim costs pay less. Within an industry, an employer’s experience further influences what they pay for workplace injury insurance.

There are stories of progress in industries and workplaces across the province. For 71 per cent of employers, their rate is decreasing, or staying the same. 

Costs are declining for the industries that build homes for Nova Scotians, and that care for an aging population.

Rates are decreasing in the nursing care, home care and disability support sectors for the second year in a row – owing to long-standing prevention efforts led by the WCB in partnership with many industry stakeholders including AWARE-NS, and various provincial government departments. See the most recent example of a campaign and leader support materials here. 

These changes will mean millions of dollars in savings for the health care system.

The more than 1,000 home builders in the residential support sector also have more dollars to put into safety programming and resources as they build places for Nova Scotians to live. The sector is seeing an 11 per cent drop in rates, due in large part to work by Construction Safety Nova Scotia over the years.

“Changes like these happen because of progress in injury prevention and in return to work,” says CEO Karen Adams. “We all want Nova Scotians working – and keeping them working is the best way to reduce costs, and more importantly, reduce impact on families.”

While there has been progress in some sectors, Nova Scotia employers pay the highest rates for WCB coverage in Canada. That’s because, in Nova Scotia, workers stay on short-term benefits longer than almost anywhere else in Canada, and many more of them go on to receive long-term benefits, many for life.

We’re working to change that, through a new 2024-2030 Strategic Plan. It is a vision for a Nova Scotia where the workforce is more protected from workplace injury than they are today. With a more sustainable funding environment than ever before, there is incredible opportunity for all of us to make a difference in the lives of the workers and employers we serve.

As assessment rates are shared, the WCB is starting to provide coverage for gradual onset psychological injuries. Over the past several months, the WCB has connected with thousands of workers and employers to provide the information, tools and resources they need to support workplaces that are both physically and psychologically safe. For more information, visit wcb.ns.ca/gpi. 

For more information about 2024 WCB employer assessment rates and how they’re calculated, visit wcb.ns.ca/rates.

Numbers at a glance:

• 2025 Average rate: $2.65 per $100 of assessable payroll
• Number of covered employers: 20,700
• Employers with the same rate or a rate decrease: 71%
• Employers with a rate increase: 29%
• Time-loss claims registered in 2023: 5,217
• Injury rate (time loss injuries per 100 covered workers): 1.40
• Acute fatalities in 2023: 7
• Chronic fatalities (occ. disease or health conditions) in 2023: 11