Statizoid

Annual working hours per worker in Canada

Canada: Annual working hours per worker was 1,731 hours per worker in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
1,731 hours per worker
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
90th
of 130 countries
All-time high
3,102 hours per worker
in 1900
All-time low
1,626 hours per worker
in 2020
Years of data
81
1870–2023

Annual working hours per worker in Canada, 1870–2023

01.0k2.0k3.0k187019462023

Source: Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hours per worker.

Analysis

The most recent figure for annual working hours per worker in Canada is 1,731 hours per worker, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual working hours per worker in Canada peaked at 3,102 hours per worker in 1900 and was at its lowest, 1,626 hours per worker, in 2020.

Canada ranks 90th of 130 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 81 years of available data.

Annual working hours per worker in Canada, year by year

Year hours per worker Change
1870 2,845 hours per worker —
1880 2,934 hours per worker +3.1%
1890 3,017 hours per worker +2.8%
1900 3,102 hours per worker +2.8%
1913 2,868 hours per worker -7.5%
1929 2,354 hours per worker -17.9%
1938 2,212 hours per worker -6.0%
1950 2,241 hours per worker +1.3%
1951 2,226 hours per worker -0.7%
1952 2,213 hours per worker -0.6%
1953 2,212 hours per worker -0.1%
1954 2,204 hours per worker -0.4%
1955 2,186 hours per worker -0.8%
1956 2,173 hours per worker -0.6%
1957 2,153 hours per worker -0.9%
1958 2,138 hours per worker -0.7%
1959 2,135 hours per worker -0.2%
1960 2,121 hours per worker -0.6%
1961 2,096 hours per worker -1.2%
1962 2,095 hours per worker -0.1%
1963 2,080 hours per worker -0.7%
1964 2,068 hours per worker -0.5%
1965 2,050 hours per worker -0.9%
1966 2,024 hours per worker -1.3%
1967 2,014 hours per worker -0.5%
1968 1,990 hours per worker -1.2%
1969 1,970 hours per worker -1.0%
1970 1,953 hours per worker -0.9%
1971 1,939 hours per worker -0.7%
1972 1,924 hours per worker -0.8%
1973 1,924 hours per worker +0.0%
1974 1,912 hours per worker -0.7%
1975 1,897 hours per worker -0.8%
1976 1,886 hours per worker -0.6%
1977 1,865 hours per worker -1.1%
1978 1,863 hours per worker -0.1%
1979 1,869 hours per worker +0.3%
1980 1,860 hours per worker -0.5%
1981 1,845 hours per worker -0.8%
1982 1,820 hours per worker -1.4%
1983 1,812 hours per worker -0.4%
1984 1,822 hours per worker +0.6%
1985 1,833 hours per worker +0.6%
1986 1,834 hours per worker +0.0%
1987 1,850 hours per worker +0.9%
1988 1,856 hours per worker +0.4%
1989 1,853 hours per worker -0.2%
1990 1,845 hours per worker -0.4%
1991 1,823 hours per worker -1.2%
1992 1,820 hours per worker -0.1%
1993 1,823 hours per worker +0.1%
1994 1,830 hours per worker +0.4%
1995 1,823 hours per worker -0.4%
1996 1,840 hours per worker +0.9%
1997 1,845 hours per worker +0.3%
1998 1,836 hours per worker -0.5%
1999 1,836 hours per worker +0.0%
2000 1,826 hours per worker -0.6%
2001 1,808 hours per worker -1.0%
2002 1,790 hours per worker -1.0%
2003 1,775 hours per worker -0.8%
2004 1,786 hours per worker +0.6%
2005 1,780 hours per worker -0.3%
2006 1,774 hours per worker -0.3%
2007 1,770 hours per worker -0.2%
2008 1,766 hours per worker -0.2%
2009 1,738 hours per worker -1.6%
2010 1,756 hours per worker +1.1%
2011 1,754 hours per worker -0.1%
2012 1,764 hours per worker +0.6%
2013 1,755 hours per worker -0.5%
2014 1,744 hours per worker -0.6%
2015 1,747 hours per worker +0.1%
2016 1,742 hours per worker -0.3%
2017 1,738 hours per worker -0.3%
2018 1,758 hours per worker +1.1%
2019 1,748 hours per worker -0.5%
2020 1,626 hours per worker -7.0%
2021 1,710 hours per worker +5.2%
2022 1,724 hours per worker +0.8%
2023 1,731 hours per worker +0.4%

Canada compared with similar countries

  • Canada's 1,731 hours per worker is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,668 hours per worker, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 2,845 hours per worker 2,845 hours per worker 2,845 hours per worker 1
1880s 2,934 hours per worker 2,934 hours per worker 2,934 hours per worker 1
1890s 3,017 hours per worker 3,017 hours per worker 3,017 hours per worker 1
1900s 3,102 hours per worker 3,102 hours per worker 3,102 hours per worker 1
1910s 2,868 hours per worker 2,868 hours per worker 2,868 hours per worker 1
1920s 2,354 hours per worker 2,354 hours per worker 2,354 hours per worker 1
1930s 2,212 hours per worker 2,212 hours per worker 2,212 hours per worker 1
1950s 2,188 hours per worker 2,135 hours per worker 2,241 hours per worker 10
1960s 2,051 hours per worker 1,970 hours per worker 2,121 hours per worker 10
1970s 1,903 hours per worker 1,863 hours per worker 1,953 hours per worker 10
1980s 1,838 hours per worker 1,812 hours per worker 1,860 hours per worker 10
1990s 1,832 hours per worker 1,820 hours per worker 1,845 hours per worker 10
2000s 1,781 hours per worker 1,738 hours per worker 1,826 hours per worker 10
2010s 1,751 hours per worker 1,738 hours per worker 1,764 hours per worker 10
2020s 1,698 hours per worker 1,626 hours per worker 1,731 hours per worker 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 87 Czechia 1,774 hours per worker compare
  2. 88 Turkey 1,747 hours per worker compare
  3. 89 Portugal 1,735 hours per worker compare
  4. 91 New Zealand 1,708 hours per worker compare
  5. 92 Italy 1,701 hours per worker compare
  6. 93 Hungary 1,668 hours per worker compare

See the full ranking of 130 places →

More work & labour data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual working hours per worker in Canada?
Annual working hours per worker in Canada was 1,731 hours per worker in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual working hours per worker recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 3,102 hours per worker in 1900.
What is the lowest annual working hours per worker recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 1,626 hours per worker in 2020.
How does Canada rank for annual working hours per worker?
Canada ranks 90th out of 130 countries with data for 2023.
Is annual working hours per worker rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual working hours per worker. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Annual working hours per worker in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/annual-working-hours-per-worker/canada/

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About this data

Indicator
Annual working hours per worker
Unit
hours per worker
Source
Feenstra et al. – Penn World Table (2025); Huberman and Minns (2005) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
130 places, 5,063 data points, 1870–2023
Last refreshed

Average working hours per worker in a given year.