Great Graphic: GDP Per Employed Person

This Great Graphic is part of an interactive chart posted on Bruegel by Michele Peruzzi, Marco Antonielli, Silvia Carrieri and Carlos De Sousa.   It depicts the output per employed person, which is a similar, but different than GDP per capita.  It is a purer measure of productivity. 

The graph is not that surprising.  We know US output is higher now than before the crisis and will few people employed.  We know the UK economy is a bit smaller still than it was at its pre-crisis peak and that its labor market held up better than in the US.  The euro area economy is smaller and few people are employed.   

The chart also illustrates one of the points that we think has been lost on many observers.   The US has emerged on this side of the Great Financial Crisis in a more competitive position than it entered it.   We suspect this gap will widened further in the period ahead, with the help of the cheap energy and low unit labor costs.