From statistics Canada:

The fundamental concepts and methods used by Statistics Canada and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics are quite similar. Both countries use internationally recognized methods and indicators to measure the performance of the labour market. In some cases they integrate information obtained from surveys with information from administrative data files on individuals and on businesses.

There are differences in the concepts and methods of household and business surveys that are common to both countries. These were highlighted in the previous section.

There are also differences in how these methods are applied in Canada and in the United States, in particular with respect to the thresholds within international standards that may influence comparisons of the more detailed results. These are highlighted below. Appendix 3 provides a summary of these differences.

Studies have examined to what extent conceptual differences affect comparisons between the two countries. For example, at the national level, on average between 2007 and 2013, adjusting the Canadian unemployment rate to American concepts lowered the Canadian rate by about one percentage point.Note3,Note4