Beginning in the mid-1990’s, the rate of growth in output per hour worked – a key factor behind the rise in per capita income – slowed in most European countries while it rose in the US, reversing a decades-long pattern. Between 2000 and 2004, hourly labor productivity rose more than twice as fast in the US than in the large euro zone economies – 2.8% per year versus little more than 1%.
与美国之间的就业差距并非欧洲的唯一问题。每工作小时产量的增长率是人均收入增长的主要因素。从九十年代中期开始，这一增长率在欧洲大多数国家都有所减缓，而美国则上升，从而逆转了长达十年的模式。2000年至2004年之间，美国的每小时劳动生产率每年增长2.8％，欧元区经济体略高于1％。美国的速度要比欧元区快大于两倍。