come to be known as oakin's law.between changes in the unemployment rate and the growth rate of real gdp. oakin noted because of ongoing increases in the size of the labor force and in the level of productivity, real gdp close to the rate of growth of its potential is normally required just to hold the unemployment rate steady. to reduce the unemployment rate, therefore, the economies must grow at a rate above its potential. more specifically, according to currently vepd versions of oakin's law, to achieve a 1 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate in the course of a year, real gdp must grow approximately 2 percentage points faster than the rate of growth of potential gdp. for illustration, if the potential gdp rate is 2%, oakin's law says gdp must grow at 4% for one year to achieve a 1% reduction in the rate of unemployment. in the light of this historic regularity, it is something of a puzzle. resolving this puzzle could give us important insights into how the economy and labor market are likely to evolv