A new report released by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed the shocking cost of poor productivity in Britain and its impact on wages. Since the great recession, advanced economies have all been suffering from weak productivity growth, with few more afflicted than Britain’s. The scale of the issue is enormous, and the Chancellor is right to prioritise it.
If British productivity could be raised by 32 per cent to match US productivity, average weekly earnings in January this year would have been £164 higher, at £678 instead of £514. On a yearly basis, that’s an £8,540 pay rise, from £26,707 to £35,247.