WHEN WILL THE BOONDOGGLES RETURN?:

Productivity rises as workers do more with less (Alana Semuels, December 20, 2009, LA Times)

Employee output per hour jumped 8.1% in the third quarter this year, the largest gain since the third quarter of 2003.

But these bustling laborers are also a big reason why companies won't be rushing to hire new staffers any time soon. The brutal downturn has forced firms across the economy to do more with fewer hands; many have found they can manage just fine for the time being.

Hiring is a function of empowering management, not of increasing production.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 20, 2009 8:41 AM