The data's not available before 1947, but the trend is clear: you're looking at the early part of a compound growth formula (with large annual variability). ht

The data's not available before 1947, but the trend is clear: you're looking at the early part of a compound growth formula (with large annual variability). https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA/ https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA/ US GDP per person has grown about 1% per year on average. Wages stopped increasing to match productivity in the early 1980s, and that trend continues.