- Prior revised to -0.1%
US productivity has been welcome surprise but it Canada, it's a struggle.
- Labor productivity dropped 0.4% q/q in Q3, marking third straight quarterly decline
- Hours worked rose 0.5% while business output growth slowed to just 0.1%
- Unit labor costs accelerated to +1.4% q/q vs +0.8% in Q2
- Loonie impact: Rising unit labor costs in USD terms (+1.7% q/q) could pressure competitiveness
More details:
- Manufacturing, professional services and wholesale trade led the productivity decline
- Utilities sector bucked the trend with +3.4% productivity gain
- Service sector productivity fell 0.3%, third straight drop
- Goods-producing sector productivity down 0.7% after +0.3% in Q2