It doesn't seem clear to me whether this quarter-to-quarter labor productivity figure actually represents the fact that labor exploitation suddenly exploded, or if the combination of layoffs and a slight increase in orders results in shipments of goods that have *already been produced* and are warehoused. Certainly this downturn is forcing workers to work harder, but at the same time when a downturn starts to turn around and a few orders come in it would seem plausible that the sale of warehoused goods while the companies are employing less and paying less would create a situation of astronomic increases in "productivity" -- But true question is what the year-over-year figure will be-- There have been massive layoffs and If orders increase those workers will probably be exploited, productivity will increase, but eventually the companies will have to rehire, and the rise in productivity probably won't look as crazy...
I'm not an economist at UC Berkley like this guy, but his reaction seems a bit overdone. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something