Strong productivity growth has been achieved partly through the elimination of many mid-skilled jobs.
Recent data suggests we are experiencing a one-sided recovery, with strong productivity improvements but anemic job growth.
Part of this rise in pay has been offset by strong productivity growth, but even unit wage costs are rising more rapidly.
The industrial production data issued on August 15th showed better-than-expected growth of 0.2% in July and also suggest quite strong productivity growth in the manufacturing sector.
America's factories have reported strong productivity gains as they have wrung more out of the workers that survived the recession (although those gains will be hard to repeat).
And, technology and innovation, the work of our most talented people, underpin the U.S. standard of living: technology-based products and services create a big export surplus and enable the strong productivity growth of the U.S. economy.
The report makes a strong case for broadband as a driver of economic growth and new jobs, citing country case studies and reports by leading consultancies that point to increased employment opportunities, higher labour productivity and a strong stimulus to GDP.
Productivity increases have been strong in recent years, due in large part to improvements in technology - helping keep inflation in check while the economy expands.
Meanwhile, U.S. unit labor costs in manufacturing, where the head-to-head competition for jobs lies, have been on a steady downward trend, because productivity growth has been strong and wage increases moderate.
That is, the important elements that constitute a nation are: being disease free, wealth, high productivity, harmonious living and strong defence.
The economy's fundamentals are astonishingly strong--productivity gains of historic proportions, low inventories, growing capital spending and very sound consumer balance sheets (media myths to the contrary).
The strong currency may boost productivity by making imported machinery and software cheaper.
Lazear pointedly stated that he expects strong growth due to high productivity and low taxes, adding that "two trends are most important when looking at last year's economic picture and the scene as we move into 2007"--the labor market and export growth.
Over the previous half-century a strong positive relationship had indeed held between productivity and profits.
The company said the results were driven by strong top-line growth and improved productivity, partially offset by a higher tax rate.
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That means structural reforms to raise productivity, fiscal reforms to boost growth and a strong monetary stimulus, all at once, to shock the economy back to life.
However, while the world has been obsessed with high-end smartphones, Nokia has been seeding the emerging markets with inexpensive smartphones designed as productivity tools, creating an enormous installed base with strong brand leadership.
He believes that positive supply-side forces will continue to damp the impact of strong demand on output prices and that productivity gains will continue to damp the effect of higher wages on unit labor costs.
Even if productivity growth does tail off, it may still be strong enough to match sluggish demand.
Using various indicators to gauge the stringency of product-market regulation and the cost of hiring and firing workers, the study finds strong evidence that heavy-handed regulation reduces productivity.
Therefore, strong labor demand in an environment of falling growth and productivity translates into falling profits and margin compression.
Productivity gains and new technology help offset some of the disadvantages of the strong dollar.
Productivity has been low because growth has been weak but employment growth relatively strong, at least until recently.
Moreover, Italy's strong employment record has a downside: zero or even negative productivity growth (see chart 4), as more marginal and less productive workers have been brought into the workforce.
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The question is whether this is due to a secular rise in America's productivity growth rates or to a mixture of temporary factors the strong dollar, cheaper commodities, flat benefit costs that have cut firms' other costs.
It may be little consolation to Mr Bush junior, but strong growth coupled with tepid hiring is doing marvellous things to the productivity numbers.
Encouraging as all this is, there are also strong reasons to be cautious about Portugal's ability to lift its productivity more rapidly.
For example, strong low-inflationary growth boosts share prices, which boost investment and hence productivity.
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