Labour productivity rises in Nunavut, up 9.5 per cent.

 

Labour productivity rises in four provinces, down nationally in 2008

6 hours ago

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OTTAWA — Labour productivity rose in four provinces and one territory in 2008, led by Saskatchewan with a gain of 1.8 per cent and Nunavut, up 9.5.

Statistics Canada reports the largest productivity declines were in British Columbia and in the Northwest Territories. Nationally, productivity fell 0.5 per cent in 2008, after rising 0.5 per cent in 2007.

The volume of hours worked rose in every province.

However, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were the only provinces in which the growth in economic output outpaced growth in the volume of hours worked.

Nationally, productivity in the goods-producing sector declined 2.2 per cent, the first decline in four years, while it rose 0.4 per cent in the services sector.

The continued expansion of the job market for most of the year led to a 3.7 per cent increase in hourly compensation at the national level in 2008, slower than the four per cent gain in 2007.

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