Occupations in creative and performing art
Actors, comedians and circus performersNOC 53121, TEER 3
NOC 53121 (Actors, comedians and circus performers) is TEER 3.TEER 3
Occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training
- Express Entry
- IRCC counts TEER 0 to 3 work for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class, so work in NOC 53121 sits inside that range.
- 2026 categories
- IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 53121.
- Median wage
- $24.13 an hour across Canada, from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (2023-2024 data).
- Provincial programs
- Each province sets which occupations its streams take. From our registry: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream, status Open, verified November 12, 2026.
How to read this code
- Broad category
- The first digit is the broad occupational category, the widest grouping in the NOC.
- TEER
- The second digit, 3, is the TEER category: TEER 3.
- Group
- The first four digits, 5312, are the minor group: Occupations in creative and performing art.
- Occupation
- All five digits, 53121, are the unit group, the occupation itself: Actors, comedians and circus performers.
Also called: actor/actress, acrobat, acting teacher - private or studio, circus performer, clown
This page shows the official duties for NOC 53121, where its TEER sits in immigration rules, and the wages Job Bank reports. It describes the rules. It does not decide anyone's case.
What the job involves
Statistics Canada text, quoted word for word. IRCC compares your duties with this description, not your job title.
Lead statement
Actors, comedians and circus performers perform roles and circus skills in circuses, motion picture, television, theatre and radio productions to entertain a variety of audiences. They are employed by motion picture, television, circuses, theatre and other production companies. This unit group includes acting teachers employed by private acting schools.
Example job titles
- acrobat
- acting teacher - private or studio
- actor/actress
- circus performer
- clown
- comedian
- drama teacher - private or studio
- narrator
Main duties: check yours
IRCC's rule for the Federal Skilled Worker Program: you must have performed "the actions in the lead statement" and "most of the main duties listed". Tick the duties you do. The count helps you compare. It is not a decision.
Verify on canada.ca(opens in a new tab)This group covers more than one job. Compare yourself with the duties under the job closest to yours.
Lead statement: not ticked. Main duties ticked: 0 of 11.
The rule asks for the lead statement and most of the main duties. IRCC gives no number for "most", and an officer decides.
Few ticks? Read "Classified elsewhere" below: it names the codes for jobs that sit close to this one.
Your ticks are kept in this browser only, so they are here when you come back. Nothing is sent. "Clear ticks" erases them.
If your duties look different
Statistics Canada names the jobs that belong in a different NOC. If one of these sounds more like your work, open that code and compare.
Classified elsewhere
- 52114Announcers and other broadcasters (See 52114 Announcers and other broadcasters)
- 53120Dancers (See 53120 Dancers)
- 41200Drama professor - university (See 41200 University professors and lecturers)
- 51122Musicians and singers (See 51122 Musicians and singers)
- 55109Other performers (See 55109 Other performers)
Usual employment requirements
- Demonstrated ability, based on an audition or previous acting or circus roles, is an important hiring criteria.
- Circus performers and acrobats may require a period of study at a circus school.
- Acting programs are offered at universities, colleges and private acting schools.
- Acting teachers usually require experience as actors.
- Membership in a guild or union may be required.
Where TEER 3 sits in immigration rules
Each row gives the rule, then what it means for this occupation. The programs set many other conditions too, so read the official page before you act.
Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class
The rule: both programs count work experience only in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3.
What this means: NOC 53121 is TEER 3, so work in it is inside that range. The TEER is one condition, not the whole test. Both programs also set how much work you need (at least 1 year, or 1,560 hours), when you did it, and minimum language results.
Federal Skilled Trades Program
The rule: this program goes by NOC group, not by TEER alone. IRPR s. 87.2 lists Major Groups 72 (less Sub-major Group 726), 73, 82, 83, 92 and 93 (less Sub-major Group 932), Minor Group 6320 and Unit Group 62200, other than a restricted occupation.
What this means: NOC 53121 is not in one of the listed groups, so work in it is not skilled trade experience under this program.
Express Entry category-based selection, 2026
The rule: IRCC publishes a closed list of NOC codes for each category. NOC 53121 is not on any 2026 occupation list.
What this means: People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. French-language proficiency is a separate category: it depends on test results (NCLC 7 in all 4 abilities), not on the occupation.
IRCC page modified October 16, 2026, checked November 12, 2026.
Atlantic Immigration Program
The rule: the program takes job offers in TEER 0 to 4 from designated employers in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The job must be full-time and non-seasonal.
What this means: A TEER 3 offer must last at least 1 year from the day the person becomes a permanent resident.
Provincial Nominee Programs
The rule: each province and territory sets its own requirements and streams, including which occupations and TEER levels a stream takes.
What this means: Check the stream's own page for this NOC code. One example from our program status registry:
Program status: OINP Ontario Workforce Priority stream: Open
The stream has launched and the expression of interest portal opened on August 4, 2026. It covers skilled workers with a qualifying job offer in any NOC occupation, plus self-employed physicians.
Verified November 12, 2026 · Official source
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)
The rule: an employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer. The wage offered, compared with the provincial or territorial threshold, puts the job in the high-wage or low-wage stream.
What this means: Service Canada refuses to process low-wage applications for jobs in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher. Some sectors are exempt, such as primary agriculture, construction, food manufacturing, hospitals, and nursing and residential care. ESDC updates the list of areas each quarter. When this page was checked (September 26, 2026), the ESDC page showed the list for July 10 to October 8, 2026; open the ESDC page for the list in force today. A separate pause covers low-wage jobs in Montréal and Laval.
Wages in Canada
The wages Job Bank publishes for NOC 53121, for Canada as a whole and for each province and territory.
- Low
- $16.75
- per hour
- Median
- $24.13
- per hour
- High
- $39.97
- per hour
What this means: half of the people in this occupation earn less than the median and half earn more. Pay changes with the province, the employer and your experience.
Median by province or territory
| Province or territory | Median (per hour) |
|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Not published |
| Prince Edward Island | Not published |
| Nova Scotia | Not published |
| New Brunswick | Not published |
| Quebec | $27.75 |
| Ontario | $23.00 |
| Manitoba | Not published |
| Saskatchewan | Not published |
| Alberta | Not published |
| British Columbia | $28.11 |
| Yukon | Not published |
| Northwest Territories | Not published |
| Nunavut | Not published |
Reference period 2023-2024. Data source: Employment Insurance Survey Data. ESDC Job Bank wages, release revised 2025-11-19. (opens in a new tab)
Search jobs for NOC 53121 on Job Bank(opens in a new tab)ClearToEnter is not affiliated with Job Bank or ESDC.
Related occupations
Codes in the same NOC group as 53121, the closest first.
- 53120DancersTEER 3
- 53122ArtistPainters, sculptors and other visual artistsTEER 3
- 53123Fashion designerTheatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designersTEER 3
- 53124Artisans and craftspersonsTEER 3
- 53125Garment patternmakerPatternmakers - textile, leather and fur productsTEER 3
- 53111Motion pictures, broadcasting, photography and performing arts assistants and operatorsTEER 3
Questions about this code
What is the TEER of NOC 53121?
NOC 53121 (Actors, comedians and circus performers) is TEER 3: occupations that usually require a college diploma, apprenticeship training of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training. In NOC 2021, the second digit of a code is its TEER: in 53121, it is 3. Every job title in this unit group, such as actor/actress, shares that TEER.
Is NOC 53121 eligible for Express Entry?
IRCC counts work experience in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. NOC 53121 is TEER 3, so work in it sits inside that range. IRCC's 2026 category lists do not include NOC 53121. People in this occupation can still be invited in general or program-specific rounds. IRCC decides each case.
What is the median wage for NOC 53121?
Job Bank reports a median wage of $24.13 an hour for NOC 53121 across Canada. The low figure is $16.75 and the high is $39.97. Medians by province and territory run from $23.00 in Ontario to $28.11 in British Columbia. The figures come from Job Bank's 2025 wage release (Employment Insurance Survey Data, 2023-2024).
What job titles are under NOC 53121?
Statistics Canada lists 8 example job titles for NOC 53121, including actor/actress, acrobat, acting teacher - private or studio, circus performer and clown. The title alone does not set the code: IRCC compares your duties with the lead statement and main duties on this page.
Can an employer hire for NOC 53121 through an LMIA?
An employer, not a worker, applies for an LMIA, and ESDC assesses each job offer, including the wage. For low-wage jobs, Service Canada refuses to process applications in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, with some exemptions.
Next steps
Read the rules behind this page, then compare pathways.
Guides
The law
Compare pathways for this occupation
The Pathway Explorer lists each major program and its published criteria. Take NOC 53121 and its TEER with you.
NOC 2021 Version 1.0: Statistics Canada and ESDC.