This is sort of the tree falling in the woods analogy — if you grow but there isn’t work, did you know you grew?

Factories are humming apparently:

Bucking fears of a sharp brake on growth after the government shutdown in the United States and earlier signs of distress in Europe and Asia, global manufacturing activity sped up in November, raising hopes for a broader global economic turnaround in the coming year.

In the United States, figures released on Monday showed factories operating at the most robust pace since the spring of 2011, and well above the level economists had expected for the month. Separate surveys out Monday in Europe and China also offered encouraging signs in a sector often considered a bellwether for the global economy.

The problem is two-fold. Factories are operating with fewer workers so growth doesn’t produce the same amount of jobs. And, when someone is working, particularly in the U.S., wages aren’t high enough to survive. So, this is truly a world of growth with no prosperity.