This is what productivity increases look like

[andrewducker]

From

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

It always seems to me that business reporters think "productivity increases" are good news, but to me it always means more people working harder just to stay even.

You know, if you fire half the workforce, productivity goes up 100%. Or at least, that's what they wish.

[andrewducker]

It only goes up 100% if the remaining half can do the work of the half they just fired. If so, then things get cheaper, if not, you only have half the stuff.

[lpetrazickis.livejournal.com]

If the labour force participation rate is remaining constant, then presumably people are finding new things to do in other sectors and as a result more is being accomplished with manufacturing only a part of the picture.

[andrewducker]

Well, either that or they're unemployed.

[lpetrazickis.livejournal.com]

Yep.

On a tangent, here's the US labour force participation graph for the same period:

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

That's intresting -- I hadn't realized that the male percentage was decreasing.

And now I'll have to try to find a chart like that showing comparable pay rates.

[autodidactic.livejournal.com]

All these sexy analytics! If you can find the pay rate chart, you're a hero!

[matgb]

This.

Less people are employed in factories on production lines doing monotonous jobs. Many of those people are able tog et better jobs elsewhere as a result of general economic growth.

Some of them simply get dull jobs in other sectors, especially low end service sector jobs.

Some of them, unfortunately, are able to even do this, sometimes for reasons beyond their control, and end up unemployed.

Overall, more people tend to be employed, and tend to produce more for the economy, but some people suffer.

This appears, disproportionately, to be poorly educated older adult males.

I've seena similar chart for the UK, only UK is fairly constant at just above 12% instead of just below 15%.

[andrewducker]

There's a good uk one here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/22/manufacturing_figures/

[matgb]

Didn't I link you to that in the first place? ;-)

[andrewducker]

I doubt it - I have The Register on Google Reader :-> But I'll believe that great minds think alike :->

[matgb]

Well, the author is a blogger I have a lot of time for, timworstall, Polly Toynbee called him a "pendant" once. For a UKIPer, he tends to know what he's talking about.

[andrewducker]

Cheers - added that feed. He seems like a dick, but a smart one :->