Vancouver, BC - The BC Progress Board released a discussion paper on productivity in British Columbia. The paper, "Boosting Incomes, Confronting Demographic Change: BC's 'Productivity Imperative'", puts BC's productivity performance in context, and outlines some key policy areas to improve provincial productivity and income levels.

"British Columbia has perennially posted mediocre productivity performance, ranking 6th in Canada for real GDP per hour worked in 2004, and 8th for improvement among the provinces between 1995 and 2004", stated David Black, Chair of the 18-member Progress Board and President of Black Press Ltd. "Though personal incomes have grown modestly in recent years, accelerating productivity growth holds the key to improvements in provincial standards of living", Black continued.

In terms of productivity levels, BC performs well relative to other provinces in many sectors with an above-average performance (or advantage) in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, mining and oil and gas extraction and, transportation and warehousing industries, as well as the forestry and logging, wood product manufacturing, and computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing sub-sectors

BC has a below average productivity performance (a disadvantage) relative to other provinces in construction, wholesale trade, and professional, scientific and technical services industries, and the clothing manufacturing and miscellaneous food manufacturing sub-sectors.

"Boosting productivity in all sectors would help to improve the province's overall economic performance, though there may be natural limits to increases in some industries because of their labour-intensive nature", noted Tim McEwan, Executive Director of the Progress Board. "Firm level organization, the adoption and diffusion of information and communications technology, along with flexible work arrangements are noteworthy ways to increase firm-level productivity", McEwan continued.

The report also outlines five broad program and policy areas for all orders of government to improve and grow productivity in British Columbia:

• Tax Policy;


• Trade Barriers, Openness, and Immigration;


• Regulatory Reform;


• Public Infrastructure; and


• Skills, Education, and Research.

"While there is no complete agreement among experts on precise prescriptions for lifting productivity, the Progress Board's report outlines some practical, contemporary measures for all orders of government to consider now and over the medium term", stated McEwan."As important is that firms and individuals consider areas where they can make a positive contribution to improving BC's productivity performance in their daily lives", McEwan concluded.

The report discusses a number of demographic trends that British Columbia - and other jurisdictions - will confront over the coming decade or so. Among the trends, is a slowdown in the numbers of young adults (those under age 30) entering the workforce relative to those entering retirement. By 2011, the outflow of retirees is expected to surpass the inflow of young people into the workforce, underscoring the increasing role immigration must play in meeting BC's labour market needs.

David Black concluded with a comment on the challenging nature of the task. "It's important to acknowledge that boosting productivity will not be easy given BC's larger service sector and small business orientation relative to other provinces", he noted, continuing, "the twin realities of looming demographic change and only modest improvements in provincial incomes suggest that concerted measures to boost BC's productivity performance are imperative".

"Boosting Incomes, Confronting Demographic Change: BC's 'Productivity Imperative'", is available on the BC Progress Board's website: www.bcprogressboard.com. The BC Progress Board is an independent panel of 18 senior business and academic leaders formed by Premier Gordon Campbell in July 2001 to benchmark BC's economic, innovation, education, environment, health and social performance over time and relative to other jurisdictions. The Board also advises on ways to improve provincial performance.