From this perspective, the assessment that recent productivity figures do not clearly point to a major ‘break’ with past developments is somewhat disenchanting since the euro area has been characterised by a sustained decline in labour productivity growth since the early 1960s.
Measured per hour, labour productivity growth averaged 4.7% in the 1960s and 1970s, 2.2% in the 1980s and 1990s and around 1.3% at the beginning of this century.