Producing Hours Worked for the SNA in Order to Measure Productivity: the Canadian Experience: Introduction

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Introduction

This paper provides a brief description of the methodology currently used to produce the annual volume of hours worked consistent with the System of National Accounts (SNA).² These data are used for labour input in the annual and quarterly measures of labour productivity, as well as in the annual measures of multifactor productivity. For this purpose, hours worked are broken down by educational level and age group, so that changes in the composition of the labour force can be taken into account. They are also used to calculate hourly compensation and the unit labour cost and for simulations of the SNA Input-Output Model; as such, they are integrated as labour force inputs into most SNA satellite accounts (i.e., environment, tourism).

In this paper, each of the production stages will be described. We first describe how we adjust our data sources to correspond with the SNA, conceptually and terminologically. Next, we begin with the initial development of the source data for the labour input. Then, we reconcile our labour inputs with the income estimates contained in the Industry Accounts, while adjusting to an aggregate benchmark. The paper ends with a brief discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this methodology.

Authors' names are listed alphabetically.

For a more detailed description, consult J.-P. Maynard, Annual Measure of the Volume of Work Consistent with the SNA: the Canadian Experience. Catalogue no. 11F0026MIE2005005, Statistics Canada.

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