Labour productivity of Canadian businesses increased 0.9% in the third quarter after a 1% decline in the second quarter and a a stagnant first quarter, Statistics Canada said in a report released Wednesday.
It was the sixth quarterly increase in eight quarters. The rebound in productivity reflects the recovery in business output, following a quarter of decline, while hours worked fell slightly.
Despite persistent uncertainty in international trade during the third quarter, real GDP of businesses rose 0.9%, after a 0.8% contraction in the second quarter.
Productivity rose the most at goods-producing businesses (up 1.6% after a 1.3% decline in the previous quarter), while service businesses were little changed (up 0.2% after a 0.3% decline in the previous quarter). Overall, productivity increased in nine of the 16 main industry sectors the national statistical agency tracks in the third quarter.
Hours worked in the business sector fell by 0.1% in the third quarter, after increasing in the previous two quarters. At goods-producing businesses, hours worked fell 0.6%. This more than offset the 0.2% increase in hours worked at service-producing businesses.