Today’s world faces some extraordinary challenges and the effects of the economic downturn will be felt by our societies for years to come. A traditional measure used to gauge nations’ welfare is gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Changes in this measure can result from changes in labour productivity (GDP per hours worked) and labour utilisation (hours worked per person employed and employment per capita). Slowing labour productivity was already eroding growth performance prior to the crisis, and data for 2007-09 show the effect of the downturn on labour and capital. In 2010 widespread growth signalled the start of a global recovery. However, the pace of recovery varies among OECD countries and unemployment remains high in most. This condition creates an imperative for countries to find new and sustainable sources of growth.