Despite the turbulence of the immediate postwar period and the persistence of underlying social and racial tensions, the 1920s were a time of vigorous economic growth. Between 1922 and 1927, the economy grew by 7 percent a year, the largest peacetime rate up to that point. Over the decade, the gross domestic product (then called the gross national product), per capita income, and the average purchasing power of wage earners all soared. At the same time, unemployment rates remained low, as producers added new workers in an effort to keep up with increasing consumer demand. Aligning themselves with big business, government officials took an active role in stimulating economic growth. Their efforts shaped and accelerated economic developments that amounted to a second industrial revolution.