US Labor Share of GDP Falls to Record Low at 53.8%

The statement is strongly supported by multiple sources, including the high-authority Bloomberg article, which explicitly states, "Labor's Share of US GDP Drops to Record Low in Data Back to 1947" and quantifies this low at "53.8% in the third quarter of last year." Several other lower-authority sources consistently corroborate this specific 53.8% figure.While the primary data sources from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) show a clear and significant decline in labor's share to historic lows around the 2011-2014 period, the specific value of 53.8% is not reflected in the current, revised data series. For instance, the "Nonfarm Business Sector: Labor Share" series shows a low of around 55%, not 53.8%.This discrepancy is very likely due to subsequent data revisions by the original source, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It is common practice for government economic data to be released in preliminary form and then revised over time as more complete information becomes available. The news reports from the time would have been based on the initial data release. Therefore, it is highly probable that the 53.8% figure was the officially reported record low at the time the articles were published.In conclusion, the weight of the evidence, particularly from the high-quality news report, indicates the statement was true at the time it was made, even if the official historical data has since been revised. The general trend of a record low is confirmed by the primary data.