Economy · Productivity · UK · 1971–2025
Why is slow productivity growth Britain’s biggest economic problem?
Output per hour is only 6.8% higher than in 2007. It grew about 2.2% a year before then and about 0.4% a year since. Over time, pay, tax receipts and public services depend on it. Calling it the biggest problem is our judgement; the figures below are measured.
Evidence last reviewed 20 October 2026
The headline numbers
+6.8%
output per hour
2025 against 2007
2.2% → 0.4%
growth a year, before and after 2007
1990–2007 and 2007–2025
−28.4%
against the old trend
2025, if 1990–2007 growth had continued
−0.7%
output per hour since 2023
2025 average against 2023
Output per hour worked, whole UK economy, ONS series LZVB (index, 2023 = 100, seasonally adjusted). Annual figures are the average of four quarters; years are complete calendar years.
Output per hour since 1971
Output per hour is how much the economy produces for each hour people work. It rose steadily for decades. Then it stopped rising at anything like that pace. In 2025 it was 6.8% above 2007. It was 0.7% below 2023.
View the figures as a table
| Year | Index 2023 = 100 | Index 2007 = 100 | 1990–2007 trend (2007 = 100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 42.3 | 45.5 | — |
| 1972 | 43.5 | 46.8 | — |
| 1973 | 45.5 | 49.0 | — |
| 1974 | 44.7 | 48.1 | — |
| 1975 | 45.0 | 48.4 | — |
| 1976 | 46.7 | 50.2 | — |
| 1977 | 47.5 | 51.1 | — |
| 1978 | 48.9 | 52.7 | — |
| 1979 | 50.1 | 54.0 | — |
| 1980 | 50.2 | 54.0 | — |
| 1981 | 52.4 | 56.4 | — |
| 1982 | 54.8 | 59.0 | — |
| 1983 | 57.7 | 62.0 | — |
| 1984 | 57.4 | 61.7 | — |
| 1985 | 59.0 | 63.5 | — |
| 1986 | 60.5 | 65.1 | — |
| 1987 | 62.3 | 67.1 | — |
| 1988 | 63.3 | 68.1 | — |
| 1989 | 63.1 | 67.9 | — |
| 1990 | 63.7 | 68.6 | — |
| 1991 | 65.8 | 70.7 | — |
| 1992 | 67.9 | 73.0 | — |
| 1993 | 70.3 | 75.6 | — |
| 1994 | 71.5 | 76.9 | — |
| 1995 | 72.1 | 77.6 | — |
| 1996 | 73.5 | 79.1 | — |
| 1997 | 75.3 | 81.0 | — |
| 1998 | 77.2 | 83.0 | — |
| 1999 | 78.8 | 84.8 | — |
| 2000 | 82.2 | 88.5 | — |
| 2001 | 83.4 | 89.7 | — |
| 2002 | 84.8 | 91.3 | — |
| 2003 | 87.1 | 93.7 | — |
| 2004 | 88.1 | 94.8 | — |
| 2005 | 89.7 | 96.4 | — |
| 2006 | 91.2 | 98.1 | — |
| 2007 | 92.9 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2008 | 92.7 | 99.7 | 102.2 |
| 2009 | 91.1 | 98.0 | 104.5 |
| 2010 | 92.8 | 99.8 | 106.9 |
| 2011 | 93.3 | 100.3 | 109.3 |
| 2012 | 93.0 | 100.0 | 111.7 |
| 2013 | 92.7 | 99.7 | 114.3 |
| 2014 | 93.1 | 100.1 | 116.8 |
| 2015 | 93.4 | 100.5 | 119.4 |
| 2016 | 94.3 | 101.5 | 122.1 |
| 2017 | 96.2 | 103.5 | 124.9 |
| 2018 | 96.9 | 104.2 | 127.7 |
| 2019 | 96.7 | 104.1 | 130.5 |
| 2020 | 98.1 | 105.6 | 133.5 |
| 2021 | 99.5 | 107.1 | 136.5 |
| 2022 | 100.4 | 108.0 | 139.5 |
| 2023 | 100.0 | 107.6 | 142.7 |
| 2024 | 99.2 | 106.8 | 145.9 |
| 2025 | 99.3 | 106.8 | 149.1 |
Growth, period by period
Growth was between 1.8% and 2.6% a year in every period from the 1970s to the financial crisis. It has been about 0.4% a year since, including the years before and after the pandemic. This is not one bad year. It is a change that has lasted 18 years.
Average growth in output per hour, per year, between annual averages. Each bar is the average over the period named.
- 1971–19801.9% a year a year
- 1980–19902.4% a year a year
- 1990–20002.6% a year a year
- 2000–20071.8% a year a year
- 2007–20190.3% a year a year
- 2019–20250.4% a year a year
Why it matters: pay and living standards
In the long run, pay can only rise steadily if each hour of work produces more. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) calls the slowdown “arguably the defining economic question of our age”. Since 2007 output per hour has risen 6.8% and average real pay 4.6%.
The measures do not move in step year by year. Household income per head has risen faster than pay, partly because it also counts benefits, tax changes and other earners. Pay can be pushed down for a time by prices, as in 2022. But the room for pay to rise is set by productivity.
Change since 2007, after inflation. Each bar uses its own geography and latest year, so compare the size of the rise, not the exact endpoints.
- Output per hour+6.8% since 20072025, UK
- Real pay (average weekly)+4.6% since 20072025, Great Britain
- Real GDP per head+9.4% since 20072025, UK
- Real household income per head+14.1% since 20072025, UK; includes benefits and tax changes
What happened to pay → · What slow growth does to the public finances →
What drives output per hour
Five things are often cited. They overlap, and nobody can say how much of the slowdown each explains. We show the UK’s position on each so you can see where the evidence is strongest.
Investment
18.7% of GDP
Total investment in 2024: the lowest in the G7 (other six: median 21.8%). Workers with more and better equipment make more per hour.
See the evidence →Research and ideas
2.8% of GDP
Research and development spending in 2023: fourth of seven in the G7. New methods and technology raise output per hour once firms adopt them.
See the evidence →Skills and health
2.74 million
people aged 16–64 were out of work through long-term sickness (Aug 2026). A skilled, healthy workforce produces more per hour, and more people in work raises output per head.
See the evidence →Management and technology
+11% in a trial
In a randomised trial in India, better management raised productivity 11%. The UK’s own schemes have not yet shown an effect, so the gain is unproven here.
See the evidence →Homes, power and transport
10 of 12 regions below average
Output per hour is lowest in Wales. Where homes, grid connections and transport are hard to build, firms and workers cannot move to where they are most productive.
See the evidence →
Output per hour worked
+6.8% since 2007
which in the long run sets the room for higher pay, tax receipts and public services.
Where output per hour is lowest
Output per hour was below the UK average in 10 of 12 nations and regions in 2023. London produced about 29% more per hour than the UK average and Wales about 15% less. London and the South East pull the average up.
- London129
- South East108
- Scotland99
- North West95
- East of England95
- South West92
- Yorkshire and the Humber88
- Northern Ireland88
- North East85
- East Midlands85
- West Midlands85
- Wales85
Output per hour in current prices, index with UK = 100, nations and English regions (ITL1). Relative position only: a region can grow while its index falls if the UK grows faster. Part of London’s lead reflects high-value industries and commuting from neighbouring regions.
What this does not show
Sources and methods (6)
- ONS, Output per hour worked, UK whole economy, series LZVB — output per hour worked, UK: headline, trend, periods and comparison with pay
- ONS, Average weekly earnings: real terms, whole economy, total pay, series A3WX (annual averages) (released 15 September 2026) — real average weekly pay, Great Britain
- ONS, Gross domestic product per head, chained volume measure (Quarterly National Accounts), series IHXW (released 30 September 2026) — real GDP per head
- ONS, Real households’ disposable income per head (UK Economic Accounts), series CRXW (released 30 September 2026) — real household disposable income per head
- ONS, Annual regional labour productivity, PRODBYREG Table 2 (released 19 June 2025) — output per hour by nation and region
- ONS, Labour productivity, UK (Statistical bulletin, December 2019) — the quotation “arguably the defining economic question of our age”
Method notes
- Output per hour worked, whole UK economy, ONS series LZVB (index, 2023 = 100, seasonally adjusted). Annual figures are the average of four quarters; years are complete calendar years.
- Growth rates are compound annual rates between annual averages: 1971–1980, 1980–1990, 1990–2000, 2000–2007, 2007–2019, 2019–2025. The 2007 comparison uses the 2025 annual average (2025 Q1–Q4) and the 2007 annual average; the latest published quarter is 2026 Q1.
- The old-trend line starts at the 2007 level and rises at 2.25% a year, the 1990–2007 compound rate. It is an illustration of scale, not a forecast.
- Real pay, GDP per head and household income are each from their own ONS series and geography (Great Britain or UK), compared only as percentage changes since 2007.
Corrections and changes
- 20 October 2026: New dev-preview page.