Canada 1Q Labor Productivity Rises 1.4%

Canadian labor productivity climbed 1.4% in the first quarter, marking the largest such gain in nearly three years, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The result, following a 0.4% advance in the previous quarter, was above market expectations of 1.2% increase, as provided by economists at Royal Bank of Canada.

The data agency said productivity gains in the services sector were the main factor driving first-quarter results.

Unit labor costs fell 0.4% in the January-to-March period, while hours worked fell 0.3%.

In comparison, U.S. productivity fell 0.4% in the first quarter.

This week, Statistics Canada said Canada's gross domestic product rose 3.7% on an annualized basis in the first quarter.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2017 08:46 ET (12:46 GMT)