Word: boom
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Krugman back in 1990, "is the single most important factor affecting our economic well-being." It was growth in productivity - most commonly measured as economic output per hour worked - during the Industrial Revolution that powered the rise of the West out of millenniums of stagnation. It was a productivity boom that ushered in America's postwar era of mass affluence...
...Until the mid-'90s, that is, when productivity growth rebounded, from about 1.5% a year to more than 2.5%. The engine apparently was the rise of the computer and the Internet. And the boom continued even after the technology bust of 2001. In 2006-07, productivity growth slumped to pre-1995 levels, before rebounding somewhat in the first half of this year. But year-to-year numbers can be confusingly noisy; it's the trend that matters. Gordon, who doesn't buy that computers and the Internet are nearly as economically significant as cars, electricity and their ilk, thinks...
...debt varies by nation, it's become a troubling factor for households and companies throughout the developed world. "Banks are being told to lend money to people who have already surpassed their borrowing capacity - and being told to do so under the same terms applied during the credit boom. It's not a good idea." But so far, no one seems to have come up with a better...
...that boom has come to a halt. On Oct. 13 Opel suspended production at Eisenach for three weeks to help sell off a stockpile of excess cars, hundreds of which crowd a parking lot inside the factory complex. Opel electrician Katrin Huber, 29, isn't happy about this vacation. "The plant shutdown is going to cost me more than $400," she says. "But worse is that we just don't know what the future holds. I'm afraid that the plant could close...
...wiped out in previous downturns, companies are now looking for younger workers. Westinghouse hired 800 people last year, bringing its total new hires to 3,000 in the past three years. Most are engineers, half of them replacing engineers who first joined the company in nuclear energy's early boom years, in the '60s and '70s. The rest are enjoying nuclear's newfound popularity. The jobs range from about $55,000 for college grads to more than $100,000 for experienced engineers. Even tech workers with associate degrees can crack $80,000. That goes a long way in an area...