Labor productivity growth during the U.K.'s Industrial Revolution averaged below 0.4 percent from 1770 to 1830, and only gradually increased to about 0.8 percent in 1860.

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity Grew Less Than 0.4 Percent Annually During the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom

From 2004 to 2014, IT investment and adoption contributed 1.4 percentage points annually to U.S. productivity growth, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Innovation Fact of the Week: IT Adoption Boosted U.S. Productivity Growth by 1.4 Percentage Points Per Year From 2004 to 2014

U.S. manufacturing labor productivity (measured in output per hour of labor) increased 43 percent between 2001 and 2011. However, over the next ten years, productivity fell by 2.8 percent.

Fact of the Week: US Manufacturing Labor Productivity Fell by 2.8 Percent Between 2011 and 2021

Labor productivity growth has slowed dramatically across the developed world in recent years. In the United States, it dropped to just 0.96 percent in the 10-year period from 2007 to 2017. That was down by more than half from 2.06 percent in the previous 10-year period.

Fact of the Week: The Digital Economy has Contributed to 86 Percent of U.S. Labor Productivity Growth in Recent Years Despite Accounting for Only 8.2 Percent of GDP

A new report by ITIF finds that the fact that U.S. workers are 16 percent more productive than EU-15 workers is largely attributable to Europe’s failure to invest in information and communications technologies (ICT), which drives labor productivity.

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity in the U.S. is Higher than in the EU, Largely Due to ICT Investments

Emerging technologies promise to bring about a new production revolution that will increase welfare throughout society, but it is expected to have the largest impact on low-productivity jobs. This could increase the proportion of high-paying and high-productivity jobs, but it also threatens a larger disruption to society, as lower-skill workers have more difficulties changing industries.

Fact of the Week: 72 Percent of Jobs Created in the U.S. from 2010 to 2016 Were Below Average in Both Compensation and Productivity

Although Congress made permanent the research and development tax credit in 2015, the federal government and states still can do more—a 10 percent increase in R&D tax credit generosity permanently increases labor productivity by 0.4 percent per year, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Increasing R&D Tax Credit by 10 Percent Could Boost Labor Productivity Growth by 0.4 Percent Per Year

If U.S. corporations brought back all their profits, labor productivity would have been 5.1 percent higher in R&D intensive industries and 4.5 percent higher in IT-intensive industries in 2014, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity In 2014 Would Have Been 5 Percent Higher If All Us Corporations Fully Repatriated Their Overseas Profits

Slow US productivity growth reinforces the need for more public investment in R&D.

Fact of the Week: US Labor Productivity Is Rising, Potentially Suggesting Another Productivity Boom in This Decade

Related

Fact of the Week: Labor Productivity Grew Less Than 0.4 Percent Annually During the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom

Innovation Fact of the Week: IT Adoption Boosted U.S. Productivity Growth by 1.4 Percentage Points Per Year From 2004 to 2014

Fact of the Week: US Manufacturing Labor Productivity Fell by 2.8 Percent Between 2011 and 2021