Until 1979, workers produced more and earned more. Then the deal broke.
+253%
Productivity growth since 1948
+116%
Wage growth since 1948
137 pts
The gap
Source: Economic Policy Institute analysis of BLS data. Indexed: 1948=100. The vertical line marks 1979 — peak alignment. The shaded area is wealth that went somewhere other than workers' paychecks.