Canada Productivity  1981-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News

Labour productivity of Canadian businesses rose 1.4 percent on quarter in the first three months of 2017, following a 0.4 percent increase in the previous period and beating market expectations of 0.2 percent. It is the largest gain since the second quarter of 2014 (1.8 percent) and the second time in three quarters that productivity growth exceeded 1 percent. Despite fewer hours worked, business output continued to grow rapidly. The real GDP of businesses rose 1.1 percent. Every major industrial sector except agriculture and forestry increased production. Hours worked to produce goods and services in the business sector edged down 0.3 percent. The decline in hours worked in service-producing businesses (-0.7 percent) more than offset a 0.8 percent increase in hours worked in goods-producing businesses. The drop was widespread in service-producing industries, led by administrative services (-2.6 percent), finance and insurance (-2 percent) and arts and entertainment (-1.9 percent). Productivity in Canada averaged 88.90 Index Points from 1981 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 109.64 Index Points in the first quarter of 2017 and a record low of 69.08 Index Points in the third quarter of 1981.