Productivity in the U.S., as measured by how much the average worker gets done in an hour, has been on the rise, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Productivity—the total output of the economy divided by hours worked—rose 2% in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, according to the Labor Department. That marked the fifth quarter in a row with an increase of 2% or better. In the five years before the pandemic, there were only two such quarters.
The growth in productivity is significant because it ties into the rate of growth for the economy. The success of the U.S. economy, and why it has grown so much compared with other countries over the past century and more, has hinged on its productivity.
The gains partly reflect massive changes in the U.S. economy since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Companies learned new ways of doing things and adopted new technologies, while an upheaval in the labor market moved workers into more productive jobs.
Another big change in the American labor force—a massive influx of immigration—might also have played a role. Immigrants are often slotted into manual-intensive jobs, possibly allowing other workers to move up to more highly skilled jobs.
