Photo: Matt Crossick/Matt Crossick/Empics Entertainment

Matthew Whittaker makes the link here between productivity, living standards and the Budget next week. For a longer-term view on the productivity challenge facing Brexit Britain, read Diane Coyle’s essay from our December issue. 

As a nation, we’re working smarter than we used to. A decade ago, for every hour we worked, we produced about £31.30 of stuff; today each hour of graft generates £31.85 of output. That sounds like good news. If we’re becoming more productive we should be able to treat ourselves to a pay rise, or perhaps some more time off. But the problem is, growth in our output per hour of 1.7 per cent over the last ten years compares with an average of 2.3 per cent every year in earlier times. Average annual growth over the last ten years is the worst we’ve recorded since 1812—the year Napoleon invaded Russia. We’re working smarter, but nowhere near as smart as we’re supposed to be.

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