EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 PM ET, DECEMBER 20, 2016
United States was just 0.1 percent of GDP (Figure 9). The United States, moreover, now spends
less than half of what it did on such programs 3 0 years ago as a share of GDP (Figure 10).^39
It is possible for the economy to generate high levels of employment with more advanced
automation and higher levels of productivity than there are today. But Federal policies will need
to play a role in helping Americans to navigate transitions in labor market demand caused by
changes in technology over time.
(^39) OECD, "Labour market programmes: expenditure and participants", OECD Employment and Labour Market
Statistics (database), 2016 (http://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=LMPEXP&lang=en#).
0.0
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.1
Mexico
Chile
United States
IsraelJapan
Estonia
Slovak Republic
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
New Zealand
Italy
Czech Republic
Slovenia
KoreaPoland
Norway
Spain
Portugal
SwitzerlandLuxembourg
GermanyBelgium
Austria
Netherlands
HungaryIreland
FranceFinlandSweden
Denmark
Figure 9: Public Expenditure on Active Labor Market Programs (% of GDP)
Percent of GDP
Note: Data for Ireland, Poland, and Spain from 2013; Data for UK for 2011.
Source: OECD Statistics (2014)
2014
0.00
0.04
0.08
0.12
0.16
0.20
0.24
0.28
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Figure 10: U.S.Public Expenditure on Active Labor Market
Programs Over Time as Percent of GDP
Percentof GDP
Source: OECD Statistics(2014)