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This article was published 11/12/2014 (2111 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the second year in row, Manitoba’s business sector was one of the country’s leaders in labour productivity gains, which is usually a sign of well-performing economy.

Statistics Canada data released today shows business labour productivity here grew by three per cent last year. That’s two and a half times the national average increase of 1.2 per cent, and second only to Newfoundland and Labrador’s 8.4 per cent gain.

However, it should be noted Newfoundland and Labrador had the biggest decline in labour productivity in 2012 — 10.8 per cent — while Manitoba had the biggest increase at 2.1 per cent.

Labour productivity is a measure of real gross domestic product (GDP) per hour worked. Productivity gains occur when the production of goods and services grows faster than the volume of work dedicated to their production.

Statistics Canada said business real GDP in Manitoba grew by 2.6 per cent last year, while the volume of hours worked edged down 0.3 per cent.

"Goods-producing businesses posted a 0.7 per cent decrease in hours worked," it added, "while service-producing businesses saw virtually no change."

The agency said Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario were the only provinces that didn’t see an increase in business labour productivity last year. All three territories also saw their productivity decline for the third year in a row.