How close are we to The Upper Limit?
A live dashboard tracking whether AI productivity is growing faster than the purchasing power needed to sustain a healthy economy.
Experimental model based on publicly available economic data. Not an official economic statistic.
2000–2025 · Indexed · Nonfarm Business Sector
Gap: 3.1× faster
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Inflation-adjusted · bls.gov ↗
Upper Limit Score
Medium confidence
Key inputs
Experimental composite indicator. Not an official economic statistic. Full methodology →
What is The Upper Limit?
Every healthy economy depends on a cycle of income and spending. The Upper Limit asks: what happens if AI breaks that cycle?
The Traditional Cycle
The AI Question
What happens if productivity grows faster than purchasing power?
That threshold, where AI-driven gains stop translating into broad prosperity, is what we call The Upper Limit.
Where Are We Now?
The continuum below shows the current balance between AI productivity and household purchasing power.
Watch
Current Position
Purchasing Power
Keeping pace
AI Productivity
Outpacing demand
Experimental model based on publicly available economic data · v1.0
Key Indicators
The metrics that drive The Upper Limit Score.
Labor Share of GDP
56.8%
-0.4pp vs prior year
Percent of GDP
Percent of national income paid to workers as wages and salaries.
Labor Productivity
118.4
+3.1% vs prior year
Indexed growth
Output per hour worked in the nonfarm business sector.
Real Compensation
110.1
+0.8% vs prior year
Indexed growth
Inflation-adjusted compensation per hour. Up 25% since 2006. Current year-over-year growth: +0.8%.
Corporate Profit Share
11.8%
+0.6pp vs prior year
Percent of GDP
After-tax corporate profits as a share of GDP. Rising share can signal labor-capital imbalance.
Radical Transparency
Every calculation is documented. Every assumption is named. Every data source links to the original. If our methodology changes, we celebrate that, not hide it.