At a certain time Europe was able to compensate a lower utilisation of labor through a higher labor productivity - a higher production per hour - but in the last decade its lead in that field has dwindled. Since the mid-90’s there was a marked and surprising acceleration in US productivity growth.
The bulk of this acceleration reflects the production and use of information technology. The take-up of new technologies has been slower in most European countries which meant that Europe did not benefit to the same degree from the productivity boost that came from the technology revolution. Over the past years, European policymakers have become more aware of this growth problem Europe is facing.