Annual working hours per person employed in Canada

Canada: Annual working hours per person employed was 1,703 Hours in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
1,703 Hours
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
23rd
of 37 countries
All-time high
1,925 Hours
in 1970
All-time low
1,700 Hours
in 2011
Years of data
47
1970–2016

Annual working hours per person employed in Canada, 1970–2016

05001.0k1.5k2.0k197019932016

Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Hours.

Analysis

In 2016, annual working hours per person employed in Canada stood at 1,703 Hours.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per person employed in Canada peaked at 1,925 Hours in 1970 and was at its lowest, 1,700 Hours, in 2011.

Canada ranks 23rd of 37 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.

Annual working hours per person employed in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Annual working hours per person employed in Canada, 1970 to 2016.
Year Hours Change
1970 1,925 Hours
1971 1,912 Hours -0.7%
1972 1,904 Hours -0.4%
1973 1,898 Hours -0.3%
1974 1,891 Hours -0.4%
1975 1,872 Hours -1.0%
1976 1,862 Hours -0.6%
1977 1,834 Hours -1.5%
1978 1,836 Hours +0.1%
1979 1,841 Hours +0.3%
1980 1,827 Hours -0.7%
1981 1,812 Hours -0.8%
1982 1,789 Hours -1.2%
1983 1,779 Hours -0.6%
1984 1,789 Hours +0.6%
1985 1,795 Hours +0.3%
1986 1,797 Hours +0.1%
1987 1,807 Hours +0.5%
1988 1,808 Hours +0.1%
1989 1,802 Hours -0.3%
1990 1,797 Hours -0.3%
1991 1,775 Hours -1.2%
1992 1,772 Hours -0.1%
1993 1,769 Hours -0.2%
1994 1,778 Hours +0.5%
1995 1,775 Hours -0.1%
1996 1,790 Hours +0.8%
1997 1,785 Hours -0.2%
1998 1,782 Hours -0.2%
1999 1,782 Hours -0.0%
2000 1,779 Hours -0.2%
2001 1,771 Hours -0.4%
2002 1,754 Hours -1.0%
2003 1,746 Hours -0.4%
2004 1,759 Hours +0.7%
2005 1,747 Hours -0.7%
2006 1,745 Hours -0.1%
2007 1,741 Hours -0.2%
2008 1,735 Hours -0.4%
2009 1,701 Hours -1.9%
2010 1,703 Hours +0.1%
2011 1,700 Hours -0.2%
2012 1,713 Hours +0.8%
2013 1,707 Hours -0.3%
2014 1,704 Hours -0.2%
2015 1,707 Hours +0.2%
2016 1,703 Hours -0.2%

Canada compared with similar countries

  • Canada's 1,703 Hours is below the median for high income countries, which is 1,728 Hours, 99% of the median. (34 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1,878 Hours 1,834 Hours 1,925 Hours 10
1980s 1,801 Hours 1,779 Hours 1,827 Hours 10
1990s 1,781 Hours 1,769 Hours 1,797 Hours 10
2000s 1,748 Hours 1,701 Hours 1,779 Hours 10
2010s 1,705 Hours 1,700 Hours 1,713 Hours 7

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 20 Australia 1,731 Hours compare
  2. 21 Italy 1,725 Hours compare
  3. 22 Japan 1,713 Hours compare
  4. 24 Spain 1,701 Hours compare
  5. 25 United Kingdom 1,673 Hours compare
  6. 26 Slovenia 1,667 Hours compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More work & labour data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per person employed in Canada?
Annual working hours per person employed in Canada was 1,703 Hours in 2016, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 1,925 Hours in 1970.
What is the lowest annual working hours per person employed recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 1,700 Hours in 2011.
How does Canada rank for annual working hours per person employed?
Canada ranks 23rd out of 37 countries with data for 2016.
Is annual working hours per person employed rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours per person employed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual working hours per person employed in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-working-hours-per-person-employed/canada/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours per person employed
Unit
Hours
Source
OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
38 places, 1,460 data points, 1970–2017
Last refreshed

Regular hours worked by full-time and part-time workers, paid and unpaid overtime, hours worked in additional jobs, and time not worked because of public holidays, annual paid leave, strikes and labour disputes, and other reasons.