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The United States is on the brink of a unique boom unseen for more than 20 years

For the past 15 years, the world’s largest economy has been locked in a period of low productivity growth. Who would have guessed that the way up could involve a pandemic? This is exactly what is happening.

The United States is going through productivity growth in the economy, which can only compete with that of the technology boom 20 years ago – if maintained at the same pace, writes The Washington Post, quoted by money.bg.

Companies and consumers are increasingly taking advantage of new technologies, allowing businesses to produce more with fewer employees. And a growing number of economists say the trend could soon turn into a boom that will bring a number of benefits in the coming years.

When employees have better tools or with the help of robots and artificial intelligence, they can produce more cars or process data faster. High productivity leads to more goods and services at a lower price and higher wages. Without it, economic growth is usually weak.

Initial data shows that productivity grew by 4.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021 – one of the highest rates in years.

Growth slowed to 2.3 percent in the second quarter, but still nearly doubled the anemic boom the economy went through in the decade since the global financial crisis. Another way to look at the data:

the country’s gross domestic product exceeded pre-pandemic levels, but employment fell by 4.4 percent over the same period.

After the Great Recession, technology experts and economists could not explain why successes in robotics and artificial intelligence did not bring strong and sustainable productivity growth.

This time, optimism comes from decisions by Congress and the White House to take steps toward significant investment in physical and digital infrastructure, and in part because of the pandemic, which has contributed to greater use of robots, artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

The conditions are right for years of continued productivity growth, say analysts at Goldman Sachs and the McKisney Global Institute.

Due to the policy of the central bank and the assistance from the central government, there is a strong demand for products and services.

There is also a shortage of employees, which makes companies invest in innovation. If a robot can do a certain job, companies are ready to try this option.

Some economists even argue that the United States is on the brink of a productivity boom unprecedented since the late 1990s.

Worker productivity rose by an average of 3.1 percent between 1996 and 2004, according to the Department of Labor, largely due to the personal computer revolution.

Economists point out that new technological breakthroughs do not immediately increase productivity, as companies need time to adopt and implement new technologies. Thus, artificial intelligence and machine self-learning may already be ready to give the economy the much-needed boost.

A number of observers have balanced forecasts and do not believe that productivity will rise to levels from the late 1990s, but assume that it will easily exceed levels from the period after the Great Recession.

After the end of a recession, there is often an increase in productivity, as many employees are laid off during the crisis, while others have additional tasks and try to impress their managers on the other to keep their jobs. In 2009, the indicator increased by 3.6 percent. Therefore, the real test will be 2022 and 2023.

The pandemic has forced a number of businesses to change the way they work, as it was not safe for employees to be close to each other – or to customers.

Thus, companies have accelerated their plans to automate and digitize routine tasks, and in some cases they are now up to 25 times faster, according to a McKinsey report, which predicts 2% productivity growth annually by 2024.

The trend of working from home can increase productivity by 5 percent, according to another study – mostly because employees save time from travel to the office and can use it for work or leisure.

Although some companies are in a hurry to return their employees to the office, it is already clear that most employees will continue to work from home.

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