Table 1
Business sector: Labour productivity and related variables for Canada and the United States¹ – Seasonally adjusted
| Fourth quarter 2010 | First quarter 2011 | Second quarter 2011 | Third quarter 2011 | Fourth quarter 2011 | First quarter 2012 | Second quarter 2012 | Third quarter 2012 | Fourth quarter 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | % change from previous quarter | |
| Canada | |||||||||
| Labour productivity | 0.4 | 0.6 | -0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | -0.7 | -0.4 | 0.1 |
| Real gross domestic product | 1.2 | 0.7 | -0.5 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Hours worked | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
| Hourly compensation | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.6 | -0.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Unit labour cost | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.3 | -1.0 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| Exchange rate2 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1.9 | -1.3 | -4.2 | 2.3 | -0.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 |
| Unit labour cost in US dollars | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | -2.3 | -3.8 | 3.1 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 1.0 |
| United States3 | |||||||||
| Labour productivity | 0.4 | -0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | -0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | -0.5 |
| Real gross domestic product | 0.8 | -0.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.0 | -0.0 |
| Hours worked | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Hourly compensation | 0.1 | 2.1 | 0.0 | -0.1 | -0.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Unit labour cost | -0.3 | 2.8 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -0.9 | 1.5 | -0.1 | -0.5 | 1.1 |
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | First quarter 2012 | Second quarter 2012 | Third quarter 2012 | Fourth quarter 2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % change from the previous year | % change from the previous year | % change from the previous year | % change from the previous year | % change from the previous year | % change from same quarter of previous year | % change from same quarter of previous year | % change from same quarter of previous year | % change from same quarter of previous year | |
| Canada | |||||||||
| Labour productivity | -0.8 | -0.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | -0.3 | -0.9 |
| Real gross domestic product | 0.2 | -4.9 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| Hours worked | 0.9 | -4.8 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| Hourly compensation | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 2.7 |
| Unit labour cost | 3.6 | 2.5 | -0.3 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
| Exchange rate2 | 0.9 | -6.7 | 10.3 | 4.1 | -1.0 | -1.5 | -4.2 | -1.5 | 3.3 |
| Unit labour cost in US dollars | 4.3 | -4.3 | 10.1 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 0.1 | -3.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 |
| United States3 | |||||||||
| Labour productivity | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Real gross domestic product | -1.3 | -4.3 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 2.2 |
| Hours worked | -2.0 | -7.2 | -0.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Hourly compensation | 3.3 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.6 |
| Unit labour cost | 2.6 | -1.6 | -1.0 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
Table note 1
Calculations of growth rates are based on index numbers rounded to three decimal places.
Table note 2
The exchange rate corresponds to the Canadian dollar value expressed in US dollars.
Table note 3
US data are from Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and costs: Fourth quarter 2012 published in NEWS, February 7.
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