Conor Sen, Columnist

Don't Look Now, But Productivity Is Finally Rising

The U.S. economy is accelerating its expansion without more workers or inflation. There's one long-awaited explanation.

Businesses that can't find workers will finally invest in productivity.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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It's the puzzle perplexing central bankers, investors and financial writers: How has the U.S. economy accelerated its expansion in recent months without a big drop in unemployment and with core inflation falling?

The logical conclusion is that productivity growth has finally picked up, a development with big implications for the economy.