Productivity decreases again, but much less than in the previous five quarters
Labour productivity of Canadian businesses decreased 0.5% in the fourth quarter, while hours worked increased slightly more than business output. This was a smaller decline in productivity than in each of the previous five quarters.
In the fourth quarter, productivity fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, following the record increase observed in the second quarter of 2020. Since the third quarter of 2020, hours worked have increased more or decreased less than the business output. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2019—the last quarter before the pandemic began—productivity was down 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The public health measures in place in the fourth quarter were essentially the same as in the third quarter, and were some of the least restrictive since the start of the pandemic. Despite the emergence of the Omicron variant and the implementation of new public health rules starting in mid-December, growth in business output continued in the fourth quarter, even outpacing that of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, hours worked continued to increase at a similar pace as in the third quarter and again surpassed output growth.
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