Average annual growth of U.S. labor productivity over the past five years hit 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2024.

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

American childen born to parents in the top 1 percent of the income distribution are 10 times more likely to grow up to be an inventor than those born to parents with incomes below the median, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: An American Child Born to Parents in the Top 1 Percent of the Income Distribution is 10 Times More Likely to Grow up to be an Inventor Than a Child Born to Parents With Incomes Below the Median

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

After analyzing technological change over recessions and across OECD countries, economists find that it wasn't at fault for sluggish employment growth in the United States post-Great Recession, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Automation Is Not the Culprit Behind Sluggish Employment Growth in the Years Following the Great Recession

In terms of purchasing power parity, U.S. per capita GDP has grown from 31 percent above the EU to 34 percent above it. About 72 percent of this gap can be attributed to differences in productivity, while just 28 percent is due to the difference in hours worked by Americans and Europeans.

Fact of the Week: 72 Percent of the Per Capita GDP Gap Between the US and the EU Is Explained by Lower Productivity

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

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

Between 2006 and 2016, the U.S. economy grew at an anemic rate of 1.4 percent, due in large part to the 2007-09 recession. But new statistics from the Bureau of Economic Analysis highlight a bright spot, providing evidence that an outsized portion of overall growth has come from the digital economy, which grew at 5.2 percent annually.

Fact of the Week: The Digital Economy Grew by 67 Percent Between 2006 and 2016

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.

Fact of the Week: Americans Continue To Earn Higher Household Incomes Than Previous Generations

Related

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

Fact of the Week: An American Child Born to Parents in the Top 1 Percent of the Income Distribution is 10 Times More Likely to Grow up to be an Inventor Than a Child Born to Parents With Incomes Below the Median

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