--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-13/explaining-canada-u-s-differences-in-annual-hours-worked/" title: "Explaining Canada-U.S. Differences in Annual Hours Worked" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:54+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:54+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2006" ipm_keyword: - "annual hours" - "Canada" - "employment" - "hours worked" - "Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity" - "labour standards" - "part-time work" - "prosperity gap" - "United States" - "vacation" ipm_research_theme: - "Labour" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Explaining Canada-U.S. Differences in Annual Hours Worked Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-13/explaining-canada-u-s-differences-in-annual-hours-worked/ # Explaining Canada-U.S. Differences in Annual Hours Worked [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-13-3-Isgut-Bialas-Milway.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Isgut, Alberto, Lance Bialas, and James Milway. 2006. “Explaining Canada-U.S. Differences in Annual Hours Worked.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 13 (Fall 2006): 27–45. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-13/explaining-canada-u-s-differences-in-annual-hours-worked/ ## Authors: - Alberto Isgut Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, Ontario - Lance Bialas Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, Ontario - James Milway Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, Ontario ## IPM Issue 13 Fall 2006 pp. 27–45 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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The Canadian Experience Tim Sargent Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 39–53](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/) [Employment, Output and Productivity Adjustment During the Great Recession: The Role of Managerial Quality Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Jacques Mairesse, Giuseppe Nicoletti Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 101–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/employment-output-and-productivity-adjustment-during-the-great-recession-the-role-of-managerial-quality/) [Accounting for the Decline of Canada’s Real GDP Per Capita since Mid-2022 Philip Smith Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 83–100](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/accounting-for-the-decline-of-canadas-real-gdp-per-capita-since-mid-2022/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn Employed Canadians worked an average of 157 hours less per year than employed Americans during 1997-2004. This one month less per year spent on the job is a significant contributor to the difference in GDP per capita between Canada and the United States. This article provides a detailed examination of the factors underlying the Canada-United States gap in annual hours worked. We find that over 40 per cent of the gap can be explained by a higher propensity of Canadians to take full-weeks off, mainly for vacations. Furthermore, over a quarter of the intensity gap is explained by a higher incidence of part-time work in Canada, and much of this reflects the higher proportion of Canada’s part-time workers who have difficulties finding full-time work. We find that Canada’s higher union coverage rates and labour standards are more important factors to explain the hours gap than differences in marginal tax rates. Canada’s less robust economy is also relevant. Finally, we find that highincome Canadians take considerably more weeks of vacation per year than their American counterparts and are less likely to work long work weeks. WHILE CANADA’S ECONOMY IS STRONG, rank- Les travailleurs canadiens occupés travaillaient en moyenne 157 heures de moins par année que leurs homologues américains au cours de la période 1997-2004. Ce mois de travail en moins par année contribue de façon notable à la différence de PIB par habitant entre le Canada et les États-Unis. Cet article fournit un examen détaillé des facteurs sous-jacents à l’écart des heures de travail annuelles entre le Canada et les États-Unis. Nous constatons que plus de 40 % de l’écart peut s’expliquer par une plus grande propension des Canadiens à prendre des semaines complètes de congé, principalement pour des vacances. De plus, plus du quart de l’écart d’intensité est attribuable à une incidence plus élevée du travail à temps partiel au Canada, dont une grande partie reflète la proportion plus élevée de travailleurs à temps partiel qui éprouvent des difficultés à trouver un emploi à temps plein. Nous constatons que le taux de syndicalisation plus élevé du Canada et les normes du travail sont des facteurs plus importants pour expliquer l’écart d’heures que les différences dans les taux d’imposition marginaux. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-13-3-Isgut-Bialas-Milway.pdf)