Alternatively they may be telling us something not yet apparent in the GDP estimates. More data may shed light on this question over time. Part of the reconciliation appears to be that growth has been concentrated somewhat in labour-intensive areas, like certain household and business services. Another part of the reconciliation probably lies in the very modest pace of growth of labour costs.
At any given rate of unemployment, wages growth appears to have been lower than would have been expected based on historical relationships. In fact, at an economy-wide level, unit labour costs – that is, wages per unit of aggregate output – have not risen for four years. This has surely helped employment.