Hi Dietmar - if you scroll through the responses you'll see this query addressed with some data/sources. There are so many definitions of productivity (by country, by region, by differetn measures, different timelines) which is why I didn't add a link in the story itself.

Essentially, productivity growth has been in decline globally and in emerging markets and developing economies since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, in what is the steepest, longest and broadest productivity deceleration of recent decades, according to 'Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies' (see below). Evidence from past epidemics and deep recessions suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic could depress labor productivity even further for years to come. HTH!

See the Wrold Bank report here --> https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/publication/global-productivity