--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/differences-in-annual-work-hours-per-capita-between-the-united-states-and-canada/" title: "Differences in Annual Work Hours per Capita between the United States and Canada" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:50+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:26+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2003" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "employment rate" - "GDP per capita" - "labour input" - "living standards" - "Ontario" - "Quebec" - "United States" - "work hours" - "work-leisure tradeoff" 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" --- # Differences in Annual Work Hours per Capita between the United States and Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/differences-in-annual-work-hours-per-capita-between-the-united-states-and-canada/ # Differences in Annual Work Hours per Capita between the United States and Canada [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-3-Fortin.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Fortin, Pierre. 2003. “Differences in Annual Work Hours per Capita between the United States and Canada.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 6 (Spring 2003): 38–46. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/differences-in-annual-work-hours-per-capita-between-the-united-states-and-canada/ ## Author: - Pierre Fortin Université du Québec à Montréal; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR) ## IPM Issue 6 Spring 2003 pp. 38–46 ## 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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In 2001, Canada’s work hours per capita were 94 per cent of the U.S. level — lower average hours per worker (91 per cent) partially offset by a higher employment-to-population ratio (103 per cent). The article examines why the average work year is shorter in Canada and explores the implications for living standards, finding that Ontario’s living standards were closer to the U.S. level than Quebec’s largely due to higher hours worked and employment rates. Cet article décompose les différences dans les heures de travail annuelles par habitant entre les États-Unis et le Canada en heures moyennes travaillées par personne employée et en ratio emploi-population, et ajoute une dimension régionale comparant l’Ontario et le Québec. En 2001, les heures de travail par habitant au Canada représentaient 94 % du niveau américain — des heures moyennes par travailleur plus faibles (91 %) étant en partie compensées par un ratio emploi-population plus élevé (103 %). L’article examine pourquoi l’année de travail moyenne est plus courte au Canada et explore les implications pour le niveau de vie, concluant que le niveau de vie en Ontario était plus proche du niveau américain qu’au Québec, principalement en raison d’un nombre d’heures travaillées et de taux d’emploi plus élevés. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-3-Fortin.pdf)