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Performance Indicator 2: Productivity

Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison

 (Updated September 25, 2008)
Year

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Rank

5

5

5

5

6

6

6

6

6

6

Performance Indicator Two tracks the inflation-adjusted value of Gross Domestic Product per hour worked in the business sector of the economy.

BC achieved a sixth place ranking in productivity among the provinces in 2007.Alberta held the first place rank through the entire 1998 to 2007 period. Since 1998, BC has consistently been below the Canadian average in real GDP per hour worked.

In terms of increased productivity, BC ranked ninth over this time among the provinces, ahead of Alberta. Newfoundland and Labrador (first) and Manitoba (second) saw the largest annual average increases between 1998 and 2007.

Why It's Important
In its simplest terms, productivity and productivity growth determine how much a jurisdiction can produce and consume given finite resources. For a business, surviving in competitive markets means being as productive as possible; that is,producing as much output per unit of capital and labour as possible. For an individual worker, productivity levels ultimately determine the wage they can demand in a market. And at a broad societal level productivity growth holds the key to funding critical public services such as infrastructure, health care, education and other social services that are fundamental to a high quality of life.

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