Helper et al. make the following argument (pp. 9-10): Some argue
that strong productivity growth has caused much of America’s
manufacturing job loss, especially in the last decade. This
theory, which contends that technology is replacing workers,
stems from the observation that apparent productivity gains have
coincided with manufacturing job loss in the 1990’s and 2000’s.
Yet there is no economic reason why increased productivity must
lead to job loss.The first thing to note is that Brookings is
talking about overall productivity gains, and not labor
productivity. The different is important. Labor productivity
according to the BLS "is the ratio of the output of goods and
services to the labor hours devoted to the production of that
output." Overall ("multi-factor") productivity "relates output
to a combination of inputs used in the production of that
output, such as labor and capital or capital, labor, energy,
materials, and purchased business services (KLEMS). Capital
includes equipment, structures, invento