Productivity

This Observatory evaluates the factors that explain the cyclical behavior of GDP in Spain, full-time equivalent employment and productivity up to 4Q2023.

Large Language Models have revolutionized the Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape since they were first developed in 2017 when a group of Google researchers wrote their now famous "Attention is all you need".

Labor shortage is one of the factors limiting housing production. The available information indicates that workers employed in construction age faster than average and have less education. Attracting talent is essential to ensure generational replacement.

Activity grew strongly in 4Q23 (0.6% q/q), despite the fall in most investment components. The improvement in activity is entirely attributable to the increase in employment, as productivity fell. All in all, GDP grew by 2.5% in 2023, slightly exceeding expectations.

This Working Paper analyzes the trends in income, employment and other economic aggregates in OECD countries from 1960 to 2022, showing the enormous heterogeneity that exists in this group in terms of growth over the last six decades.

The post-pandemic recovery process has been a mixed bag. On the plus side, both the labor force and employment have grown. However, GDP growth has not been enough to increase per capita income and productivity, and the gap with the EU has widened somewhat more than in the ten-year period leading up to COVID-19.