Statistics Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Table F.1 Business sector - Labour productivity and related variables for Canada and the United States1,2

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Standard table symbols

Item Second quarter 2007 Third quarter 2007 Fourth quarter 2007 First quarter 2008 Second quarter 2008 Third quarter 2008
seasonally adjusted

1. Source: U.S. data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Productivity and costs, published in NEWS.

2. Calculations of growth rates are based on index numbers rounded to three decimal places.

3. The exchange rate corresponds to the U.S. dollar value expressed in Canadian dollars.

4. The change at annualized rates corresponds to the annual growth rate that would have been observed if the growth over the quarter had been the same for the whole year.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Economic Accounts Quarterly Review, catalogue number 13-010-X.

Empty cell Percent change from previous quarter

Canada

Labour productivity

-0.0 -0.1 -0.3 -0.7 -0.3 -0.0

Real GDP

1.0 0.5 0.0 -0.4 -0.0 0.2

Hours worked

1.0 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2

Hourly compensation

0.2 0.4 1.3 1.2 0.8 0.6

Unit labour cost

0.3 0.6 1.5 1.9 1.1 0.6

Exchange rate3

-6.3 -4.9 -6.0 2.3 0.6 3.1

Unit labour cost in US$

7.0 5.7 8.0 -0.3 0.5 -2.5

United States

Labour productivity

1.2 1.5 0.0 0.6 0.9 0.4

Real GDP

1.4 1.3 -0.2 0.2 0.7 -0.4

Hours worked

0.2 -0.2 -0.2 -0.4 -0.2 -0.8

Hourly compensation

0.5 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.3 1.0

Unit labour cost

-0.7 -0.6 1.1 0.3 -0.6 0.6
Empty cell Percent change from same quarter of previous year

Canada

Labour productivity

0.7 0.8 0.3 -1.1 -1.4 -1.3

Real GDP

2.7 3.0 2.6 1.1 0.1 -0.3

Hours worked

2.0 2.2 2.3 2.3 1.5 1.0

Hourly compensation

4.6 3.8 3.6 3.2 3.8 3.9

Unit labour cost

3.9 3.0 3.3 4.4 5.2 5.2

Exchange rate3

-2.2 -6.8 -13.8 -14.3 -8.0 -0.3

Unit labour cost in US$

6.1 10.5 19.9 21.8 14.3 5.5

United States

Labour productivity

0.7 2.8 2.8 3.4 3.0 1.9

Real GDP

1.7 3.0 2.4 2.8 2.0 0.2

Hours worked

1.0 0.2 -0.3 -0.6 -1.0 -1.6

Hourly compensation

4.4 4.8 3.7 3.4 3.2 3.3

Unit labour cost

3.6 1.9 0.9 0.0 0.2 1.4
Empty cell Percent change from previous quarter at annualized rate4

Canada

Labour productivity

-0.2 -0.6 -1.0 -2.7 -1.1 -0.2

Real GDP

4.0 2.1 0.1 -1.7 -0.2 0.7

Hours worked

4.2 2.7 1.2 1.0 0.9 0.9

Hourly compensation

0.9 1.7 5.2 5.0 3.2 2.3

Unit labour cost

1.1 2.2 6.3 7.9 4.4 2.5

Unit labour cost in US$

31.0 24.8 36.2 -1.3 1.9 -9.5

United States

Labour productivity

5.0 6.2 0.1 2.3 3.7 1.5

Real GDP

5.6 5.5 -0.6 0.7 2.6 -1.7

Hours worked

0.6 -0.7 -0.7 -1.6 -1.0 -3.2

Hourly compensation

1.9 3.6 4.4 3.6 1.2 4.2

Unit labour cost

-2.9 -2.5 4.3 1.3 -2.4 2.6