From Reuters: Jobs outlook may be too optimistic: SF Fed study.

Economists Mary Daly and Bart Hobijn trace last year’s surge in joblessness to unusually strong productivity growth at U.S. businesses.

Companies’ ability to keep output steady, even as they slashed jobs, meant the unemployment rate rose twice as fast as predicted by the historical relationship between gross domestic product and unemployment, known as Okun’s law, the economists found. U.S. joblessness touched a high of 10.1 percent last year.

Mary and Bart, you need to look into how imports are accounted for in the GDP statistics. I think you might find the outsize productivity gains in recent years are a mirage. Of course, this doesn’t change your conclusion, just explains it.