--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/work-from-home-labour-market-disruption-and-productivity-canadian-evidence/" title: "Work-from-Home, Labour Market Disruption, and Productivity: Canadian Evidence" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:16+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:16+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2020" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "COVID-19" - "industries" - "labour market" - "pandemic" - "productivity" - "remote work" - "WFH index" - "work from home" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Work-from-Home, Labour Market Disruption, and Productivity: Canadian Evidence Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/work-from-home-labour-market-disruption-and-productivity-canadian-evidence/ # Work-from-Home, Labour Market Disruption, and Productivity: Canadian Evidence [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-39-2-Blit-Skuterud-Veall.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Blit, Joel, Mikal Skuterud, and Michael Veall. 2020. “Work-from-Home, Labour Market Disruption, and Productivity: Canadian Evidence.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 39 (Fall 2020): 16–32. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/work-from-home-labour-market-disruption-and-productivity-canadian-evidence/ ## Authors: - Joel Blit University of Waterloo; McMaster University - Mikal Skuterud University of Waterloo; McMaster University - Michael Veall McMaster University ## IPM Issue 39 Fall 2020 pp. 16–32 ## Related IPM articles [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/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [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/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) [How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? 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/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment to study the labour market and productivity implications of forced work-from-home (WFH) across Canadian industries. Using a WFH suitability index matched to Canadian industry data, it documents that industries with higher WFH capacity experienced smaller employment declines during the pandemic. At the macro level, the forced WFH experiment provides evidence on productivity implications of remote work — with mixed findings across industry sectors and skill levels — and discusses longer-run implications for labour market structure. Cet article utilise la pandémie de COVID-19 comme expérience naturelle pour étudier les implications sur le marché du travail et la productivité du télétravail forcé dans les industries canadiennes. À l’aide d’un indice d’aptitude au télétravail couplé aux données industrielles canadiennes, il documente que les industries affichant une plus grande capacité de télétravail ont connu des reculs d’emploi plus faibles pendant la pandémie. Au niveau macro, l’expérience de télétravail forcé fournit des données probantes sur les implications de productivité du travail à distance — avec des conclusions mitigées selon les secteurs industriels et les niveaux de qualification — et examine les implications à plus long terme pour la structure du marché du travail. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-39-2-Blit-Skuterud-Veall.pdf)