For example, General Electric's lighting division is already using the Internet to solicit bids for spare parts for its factories overnight, shortening the process by two weeks. Chrysler has been able to boost its car production significantly without building new factories by making shrewd use of computers. But many economists say that such illustrations, memorable to journalists and politicians, surprisingly misportray the larger patterns. Specific companies and entire industries are moving forward, yet there's precious little evidence that the U.S. economy is making much progress overall. True, the very makeup of the national productivity figures is disputed.
Many analysts say that the role of the fast-growing software industry is underrepresented.
Irvine on the impact of technology on productivity. Additionally, government panels have said that official estimates of inflation are too high, which would mean that underlying productivity growth may be better than generally believed. Optimists also point out that the most recent estimates of labor productivity by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show productivity improving in the second quarter of 1997. Still, the trend is what counts, and from the mid-1970s until today, the productivity growth rate has hovered just above 1 percent a year, with virtually no upward trend yet apparent in the 1990s. This statistic may seem incredible.