You've packed a lot of things in there. Maybe I could help you take that apart.
First of all, a weak currency generally means a slowdown of productivity growth, because firms are able to make their profits without heavy investment in new technology or new technique. Clearly firms have really been challenged the last five years, and in fact the last six months, as the dollar has soared. Arguably, the pace of investment in new technology, new machinery and equipment, has not kept pace with the rise of the dollar. That is part of the scrambling that our business community is doing right now to cope with the strong dollar.
Then add to that the meltdown of the U.S. housing market, the U.S. whole subprime mess, which is really a source of end demand for a lot of manufacturers. People who are making autos and parts are feeling it right now, because the consumer in the United States is very weak.
So those are all factors, absolutely, in explaining productivity. But at the same time, we're pretty close to full employment as a national economy. So even though we are seeing employment losses in manufacturing, many of those people are getting absorbed fairly quickly in other parts of the economy.