Labour productivity of Canadian businesses fell 0.6% in the third quarter, after edging down 0.2% in the second quarter and posting a 1.3% increase in the first quarter. This was the largest decrease since the second quarter of 2015 (-1.2%).

In the third quarter, business output and hours worked both increased at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, however, the increase in hours worked again surpassed the increase in output.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) of businesses edged up 0.3% in the third quarter. This was much lower than the 1.2% growth observed in the previous quarter and a deceleration was seen in both goods-producing and service-producing businesses. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, retail trade, and finance and insurance were the main industries that moderated the growth in output.