Few will disagree with the notion that the United States is now firmly entrenched in recovering from the millenniums first great downturn. However, many disagree about what exactly is pulling us away from deflation, mass unemployment and stagnation. While I'm no economist, I do believe that I can have an insight into what I believe has helped the US and other parts of the world avoid catastrophe.

Simply put, we as workers are producing more goods and services per person than four years ago. Whether or not you agree with off shoring, you must admit that increased productivity is our only defense against a low paid work force in another country. Americans are taking this to heart, and working harder than ever. However, it's easy to overlook the daily challenges still faced by the average employee. It's also easy to overlook how technology is making that job easier, and as a result making employees more productive.

For example, before the printing press, books were hand copied. After the invention of the printing press this all changed. But the advent of this new technology didn't just make one person more productive; it also created a number of jobs in the process. Now instead of requiring one person to copy book after book, a support staff of technicians, sales reps, and engineers were all required.

Skip ahead a bit to the advent of the photo-copier which greatly reduced the overhead of producing copies. Sure, it wasn't book quality, but for mass mailings, inter-office memos and duplication of paperwork it was a godsend. But just as this new technology may have reduced the number of workers required to operate and maintain the machinery, it also opened up and entire industry for the sale and support the new product.

The net effect of this technological change was jobs, and lots of them. Where as a few were tasked with copying all the books by hand hundreds of years ago, now the document imaging / copying industry not only employees many, but has spawned a number of privately owned copy shops. All told, the progress of technology tends to create more jobs than it eliminates. Granted the jobs require more skill and education, but they also tend to pay employees more.

Now you may be asking what does this have to do with productivity. The advent of the copier made making copies a much less labor intensive process. Fewer workers could produce more copies as a whole than an army of workers could by hand. Today hand copying of books is unheard of. Were jobs lost because of productivity gains? Possibly, but the vast majority were never created. The companion of productivity gains is increase in demand. As long as demand for a product continues to grow, workers can keep their job and simply produce more. Producers will simply put off hiring extra workers until they become necessary.