Job prospects Firefighter in Newfoundland and Labrador

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "firefighter" in Newfoundland and Labrador or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Good for firefighters (NOC 42101) in Newfoundland and Labrador for the 2025-2027 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.

Hiring is expected to replace retiring firefighters and the St. John's Regional Fire Department recently announced recruitment for temporary firefighters. Of note, the recent prevalence of wildfires and the reliance on volunteers and assistance outside the province could increase the demand for fire services leading to more job opportunities and vacancies. Currently, many fire departments outside the St. John's area are mainly staffed by around 6,000 volunteers.

Here are some key facts about firefighters in Newfoundland and Labrador:

• Approximately 350 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Firefighters mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 77%
  • Provincial and territorial public administration (NAICS 912): 7%
  • Mining and quarrying (NAICS 212): 6%
  • Other transportation and warehousing (NAICS 482, 486, 487, 493): 6%
• 82% of firefighters work all year, while 18% work only part of the year, compared to 56% and 43% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 47 weeks compared to 40 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 94% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: 6% 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: 21% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 38% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 31% compared to 23% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 5% compared to 14% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: n/a

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Newfoundland and Labrador by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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