UK labour productivity recorded its sharpest rise since the second quarter of 2011 in the three months to September, after what appears to have been its weakest decade since the early 1820s in the wake of the Napoleonic wars.
Data from the Office for National Statistics yesterday showed output per hour rose by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club think-tank, said: “The rebound suggests some of the first-half 2017 weakness in productivity may have been cyclical. Businesses may have been keen to employ given concerns over potential labour shortages and also given the low cost of labour."
But he added: “There needs to be sustained improvement to ease concerns over the UK’s overall poor productivity record since the 2008/09 recession.”
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