It's tempting to dismiss the mass layoffs and collapsing stock prices in the tech sector as just another blip in the tech boom-and-bust cycle. Technology firms may make up 36% of the S&P 500, but they represent only 0.3% of workers. These are mostly highly skilled people who will probably find other jobs quickly, so there is reason to hope that this is a necessary correction to an overinflated sector of the economy and that right-sizing won't cause wider damage.
But the fact that productivity in the U.S. is also falling is worth noting, and suggests that what's happening in tech could mean something much deeper is wrong.
