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Interestingly when you exclude farm work, there is a 27% difference in productivity between the Eurozone and the US www.ft.com/content/2208...

did you read the article I linked? they argue that this isn't correct when you account for cost of living differences, and for working hours differences

I did read the article, but I can't find where they talk about excluding farm work? I only see them comparing Western European countries and EU-27, noting that it drops for the latter to slightly below US.

Why exactly would you exclude farm work? Farmers don't count? This does sound like farmers are particularly badly paid in the US and not in Europe so it sounds like cherry picking. It's not that farming is all manual work and industry is not.

Well it seems to hide a much larger difference outside of farming. The article makes the case that this is because Europe failed to reap efficiency gains of digital technologies.

I always find it amusing how the only people saying Europe is in decline are those not living in it. Over a decade, all I've seen is stable economy, safety, rising salaries (and price for goods also), and actual order. Meanwhile the US is in chaos, one bubble pop away from economical collapse.

There's plenty people living inside Europe that say it too and it does face real issues, albeit possibly overstated.

There is no life rid of trouble, and whoever says otherwise is selling an illusion. And yet troubles have different severity and vary from person to person.