Differences in Annual Work Hours per Capita between the United States and Canada

In addition to productivity levels, living standards, as measured by GDP per capita, are determined by both average hours worked per person employed and the share of employment in the total population employed. In this article, Pierre Fortin from the University of Quebec at Montreal examines differences in annual work hours on a per capita basis between the United States and Canada. He finds that in 2001 average hours worked was lower in Canada (91 per cent of the U.S. level), while the employment/total population ratio was actually higher in Canada (103 per cent of the U.S. level). With output per hour in Canada 90 per cent of the U.S. level, the overall effect of these three variables was to produce a level of GDP per capita in Canada that was 85 per cent of the U.S. level. He also finds that Ontario in 2001 had enjoyed a higher level of GDP per capita than Quebec (86 per cent versus 77 per cent of the U.S. level) because of its greater average hours worked and higher employment/total population ratio, offset by a slightly lower productivity level.