Global productivity numbers are in — cue the sad trombone sounds

New data from the Conference Board, a U.S. based think tank, showed that global productivity rates were still down, even years after the recession. And, they have little chance of turning upward in the next year.

Victoria Stilwell is an economics reporter for Bloomberg. She said there’s still room for debate as to whether or not this is the new normal, or if we’re just having a hard time figuring out how things like Snapchat and 3D printers add to our productivity.

In the short term, low productivity could be a reason why wages have stayed low since the financial crisis, even as the unemployment rate has dropped. Hear more about the rates by clicking the audio player above.