The EU has outperformed the US on per-capita output growth; in terms of output per hour worked, some EU countries are as productive as the US

The article chooses to take a metric that you usually do not see much: GDP per employee and per hours worked, at purchasing power standards

      • Justas🇱🇹@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        10 months ago

        I am a Lithuanian living in Lithuania. I work from home and my SO works at a nearby city. It will be different if/when we have children, but we don’t need to work extra hours to get by. Most people here don’t have extra part time jobs, even with large families.

          • Ooops@kbin.social
            71·
            10 months ago

            The worst part is that technological advancements massively improved productivity. So nowadays you need to work 7 days to support a family instead of 5, but then produce the same in just 3 of it. Because the actual problem is that payment hasn’t increased wiht output. That increase collects at the top as massive amounts of money for a very few.

            • ebikefolder@feddit.deEnglish
              3·
              10 months ago

              The ones on top successfully convinced almost everybody that we need constant growth. Without, we could live perfectly well working 3 days, and payments wouldn’t even need to increase because we wouldn’t have to buy this ever increasing amount of stuff that is produced in ever decreasing quality so it doesn’t last too long.

              And if, due to some horrible error, it does last, the manufacturers will find ways to render it useless. By preventing repairs, not providing spare parts, software “updates” that cripple performance etc.

              • Ooops@kbin.social
                41·
                10 months ago

                While there is valid criticism about constant growth, it actually exists. More is produced by less input in ressources, because we got better at it.

                The actual problem I talk about is that this growth is not going back into the system but it accumulates at the top.

      • Justas🇱🇹@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        That is true for Southern and Western EU, but not for Eastern EU though. I grew up in the 90’s. I am already richer than my parents were back then and it is true for almost everyone in my age group that I I know.

        • Blaze@discuss.tchncs.deOPEnglish
          3·
          10 months ago

          Oh yeah, definitely. I had a Romanian colleague who moved to Western Europe to give it a try. He went back to Romania after a few months, and when he explained me the way he was living there, I couldn’t but understand.