The rate of growth of output per person was identified as a major issue facing the United States as of the writing. Go to the 2018 Economic Report of the President (www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ERP_2018_Final-FINAL.pdf) and find a table titled “Productivity and Related Data”. It can be downloaded as an Excel file.

a. Find the column with numbers that describe the level of output per hour worked of all persons in the nonfarm business sector. This value is presented as an index number equal to 100 in 2009. Calculate the percentage increase in output per hour worked from 2009 to 2010. What does that value mean?

b. Now use the spreadsheet to calculate the average percent increase in output per hour worked for the decades 1970–1979, 1980–1989, 1990–1999, 2000–2009, and 2010–2017. How does productivity growth in the most recent decade compare to the other decades?

c. If a more recent Economic Report of the President is available, update your estimate of the average growth rate of output per hour worked to include years past 2017. Is there any evidence of an increase in productivity growth?