Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeNewsEconomyLabour productivity increases with age in Canada — until it doesn'tAging workforce adds to challenges facing economy You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.The percentage of Canadian companies where the workers' average age was 55 and above has increased to almost 20 per cent. Photo by Getty ImagesLabour productivity at Canadian companies increases with age, but only until workers are in their late 40s, according to a new Statistics Canada report.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe rate of decline varies based on the profession, the agency said. For example, productivity peaks for employees in their late 40s in the finance and insurance sector and shows a modest decline thereafter. But productivity in the construction and manufacturing sectors peaks when employees are in their late 30s and declines more sharply after that.Labour productivity, which is a measure of real gross domestic product (GDP) per hour worked, has been sluggish in Canada in recent years and the workforce is quickly aging.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againFor example, the proportion of companies with an average worker age of more than 40 rose to 42.3 per cent in 2022 from 26.2 per cent in 2001, according to a Statistics Canada report in June. Similarly, the percentage of those companies where the workers’ average age was 55 and above increased to 18.8 per cent from 9.3 per cent in the same timeframe.“Businesses need to understand the sector that they are in and figure out how they can get the best out of all their workers regardless of age,” said Anil Arora, a board member at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and former chief statistician of Canada.“That may be taking advantage of the experience and wisdom of people above 50 and the energy, enthusiasm or tech savviness of those newly joining. We can’t afford to waste an ounce of talent or energy.”But older workers don’t automatically equate to lower productivity, according to a report published by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2020 and cited by Statistics Canada, which said an aging workforce can significantly boost GDP per capita with the right steps taken.That requires emphasizing aspects such as lifelong learning, healthy working conditions and flexible arrangements to help older workers remain engaged.Arora said Statistics Canada’s report isn’t surprising since demographics is a predictable trend, but the aging population combined with the lack of sufficient investments and a cohesive strategy to boost labour productivity should act as a wakeup call for businesses.“This isn’t a surprise, but it is happening now,” he said. “We have to tackle this on top of weak investment, slow technology diffusion, insufficient lifelong learning and insufficient investments. This is having a compounding effect.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.