Output per hour worked in the business sector fell 0.4 per cent in the July to September period, compared with gentler declines of 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent in the second and first quarters, respectively, Statistics Canada reported. Labour productivity has now dropped in 13 of 15 quarters since the start of 2021. (The Logic) 

Talking point: It’s been nine months since Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said Canada’s moribund productivity had become a “break the glass” moment. The alarm is still ringing. Total hours worked outside of the government sector increased 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, but inflation-adjusted output by businesses grew only 0.1 per cent. In effect, companies were working harder to stand still. Canada is suffering from chronically weak business investment that has left the country especially vulnerable to Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The federal government’s response? GST rebates and a sprinkling of helicopter money, measures that might momentarily dull the pain but ignore the disease.