Canada ranks 3rd last when it comes to paid vacation days

Canadians are among the developed world's hardest workers, so it's probably no surprise that a new study found we rank third-last when it comes to paid vacation days.

CBC News reports the study found only Japan and the United States — which is dead last — guarantee workers fewer vacation days than Canada.

The survey by the Washington-based Center for Economic Policy and Research, found employers in Canada provide 10 vacation days on average, plus Canadian workers are paid for at least five statutory public holidays — the number varies from province to province.

Japanese workers get 10 vacation days on average, but no statutory holidays and the study said America remains a "no-vacation nation," with no guaranteed paid time off.

"In the absence of government standards, almost one in four Americans has no paid vacation [23 per cent] and no paid holidays [23 per cent]," the report said, according to CBC News.

The U.S. is "the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation."

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The report noted most provinces and territories legally require a minimum two weeks of paid annual leave, with Saskatchewan mandating three weeks. So does Ottawa for businesses operating under federal labour laws. The average number of paid stat days ranges from five in Nova Scotia to 10 in B.C. and the Northwest Territories. Most provide eight or nine days.

If you want more paid vacation, France is the best, with 30 days, followed by Britain, at 28, and Scandinavian countries with 25 days.

But as CBC News noted, when you add in statutory holidays, Austria and Portugal come out on top with 35 days each, followed by Germany and Spain (34 days) and France and Italy (31 days).

"Again, U.S. law makes no provisions for paid holidays, as is also the case in Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom," the report said.

But here's a weird thing. A 2009 Harris/Decima poll done for travel web site Expedia.ca found roughly one in four Canadians weren't taking all the vacation days they were entitled to use, a CanWest News story said at the time.

Canadians left 34 million vacation days worth $6.03 billion on the table, the survey concluded.

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A 2011 study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found Canadians worked an average 1,712 hours per person per year, eight hours more annually than their American counterparts. By contrast, Norwegians spent only 1,421 hours with their noses to the grindstone, while Greeks — yes, Greeks! — worked 2,038 hours a year. Mexican workers averaged 2,250 hours a year.

But the same data shows hours worked doesn't necessarily equate to high productivity.

For Canadians, the gross domestic product per hour worked, measured in U.S. dollars, was $46.30, compared with $60.20 for American workers and $32.60 for those Greeks. Mexicans fared worst, with $17.3o in GDP per hour worked, while the Norwegians topped out at $83.