This slowing in productivity growth has led a number of observers to ask whether the acceleration of productivity of the latter part of the 1990s was a cyclical phenomenon, which was bound to come to an end when the economy slowed, or a structural one.
Cyclical forces, such as the inability of businesses to add to their payrolls as rapidly as they would have liked in response to the rise in demand, probably played some role in these productivity gains. In addition, some enthusiasts made overly optimistic statements about the benefits of these newer technologies.