Economic and Social Reports, October 2022

Released: 2022-10-27

The October 2022 issue of Economic and Social Reports, which contains three articles, is now available.

Gap between men's and women's contributions to gross domestic product narrows

The gap between women's and men's contributions to gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 2008 to 2018. The study "Improving the measurement of the contribution of women to the economy: Estimates of gross domestic product by gender" shows that women's contribution increased from 25.7% to 28.5% and men's contribution increased from 48.7% to 49.2%, while the percentage of unallocated GDP decreased.

Men's share of GDP is highest in resource extraction industries, while women's share of GDP is highest in public sector industries (health, education and public administration).

While the results are consistent with an increase in women's labour market participation, the changes in GDP shares do not completely align with changes in labour market activity. Within GDP, the compensation of employees is around two-thirds of the overall value, and it will reflect the changes in women's labour market participation as well as the presence of any gender wage differences or differences in full-time and part-time employment patterns.

However, a difference arises for capital income: the remaining one-third of GDP. Ownership of capital does not necessarily follow labour market patterns, and there is an important portion of capital income that is unallocated because it is not possible to assign gender of ownership for large publicly traded companies and for government entities. Additionally, there is a small percentage of firms with incomplete ownership information whose capital income is also unallocated. Overall, the portion of total GDP that cannot be allocated is around 23%.

Gap between real wages and productivity widens

Real wages and labour productivity have usually been closely related in Canada. However, the article "Real wages and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic" shows that from 2019 to 2022, real wages decreased by 7.1%, while labour productivity declined by 0.3%. This gap, which grew over the course of the pandemic, is not unprecedented, but it is close to its historical limits.

The article also explains that the price of goods and services produced by workers has risen faster than the price of goods and services consumed by them. As a result, the increasing gap between real wages and productivity may have been felt less by workers. However, this continues to change with inflation.

Rising interest rates and more: a look at the latest developments in the Canadian economy

The article "Recent developments in the Canadian economy, fall 2022" provides an integrated summary of recent changes in output, consumer prices, employment, and household finances. It focuses on changes in the economic data during the first half of 2022 and into the summer months. The article highlights the slower pace of economic activity in recent months, along with factors that continue to cloud the outlook, as businesses and households adjust to higher borrowing costs. The report also highlights recent changes in the pace of consumer inflation and the record decline in household wealth in the second quarter.

Products

The October 2022 issue of Economic and Social Reports, Vol. 2, no. 10 (catalogue number 36280001) is now available. This issue contains the articles "Recent developments in the Canadian economy, fall 2022," "Real wages and productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic," and "Improving the measurement of the contribution of women to the economy: Estimates of gross domestic product by gender."

Contact information

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