The longer term trend is also worrying - the European economy has grown less quickly than the US over the last decade, during which time Europe has moved from having a higher rate of productivity growth than the US, to a lower one.
The problem, however, is not simply the comparison with the US productivity growth in Europe has deteriorated with respect to its own past. The net result has been a slowdown in the rate of growth of output per head, the main determinant of living standards. Relative to the US, in terms of the improvement in living standards, Europe is now losing ground.