Canada productivity
- Prior quarter 0.2%
- Labor productivity rate -0.3% in Q1
Highlights and details:
Labour Productivity
- Labour productivity of Canadian businesses declined 0.3% in Q1 2024, following a 0.2% increase in Q4 2023.
- Productivity fell in half of the 16 industry sectors.
- Major contributors to the decline: manufacturing, professional services, and administrative services.
- Gains in productivity were observed in agriculture and forestry, accommodation and food services, and transportation and warehousing.
Business Output and Hours Worked
- Business output edged up 0.1% in Q1 2024, similar to the Q4 2023 increase.
- Hours worked increased by 0.4% in Q1 2024, after slight changes in the previous two quarters.
- Hours worked in services-producing businesses increased by 0.6%, while goods-producing businesses saw no change.
- Hours worked were up in 9 of the 16 industry sectors, stable in 4 (mining and oil and gas extraction, construction, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing).
Employment
- The increase in hours worked reflects 0.4% growth in the number of jobs, with unchanged average hours worked.
Unit Labour Costs
- Unit labour costs rose by 1.3% in Q1 2024, higher than the 0.2% increase in Q4 2023.
- The rise in unit labour costs was due to a 0.3% decline in productivity and a 1.0% increase in hourly compensation.