# Britain's productivity: 30 years — sources and method

Supplied by the site owner on 2 November 2026. Every figure was checked against stored source data on 2 November 2026. Builder checks, not independent analytical assurance.

## Output per hour, 1997–2024: +40.7%

ONS, *Component approach to measuring labour productivity, UK: 1997 to 2024*, published 17 September 2026 (stored: `data/productivity/ons-component-approach-2026.json`). ONS says these "are not official statistics". The current official method gives 34.0% for the same years. The page headline uses the official series (LZVB, about 32% from 1997 to 2025); the two are shown side by side, never joined.

## Growth before and after the financial crisis

Same ONS article, component approach: about 2.0% a year in 1997–2007 and 1.3% a year in 2009–2019 (current method: 2.1% and 0.7%). The slowdown remains on both methods; its size depends on the method.

## The G7

The film names the seven economies and says comparisons need purchasing-power-adjusted OECD data. It quotes no G7 ranking. The page's G7 chapter uses the OECD Productivity Database, GDP per hour worked, 1995–2025.

## Nations and regions, 2023

ONS, *Regional labour productivity*, PRODBYREG Table 2, output per hour, UK = 100, 2023. London 128.5 (28.5% above the UK average), South East 107.7 (7.7% above); the other ten nations and English regions were below 100. Workplace-based: commuting raises London's figure.

## Unit labour costs, 1997 Q1 to 2024 Q1: about +98%

ONS series LNNL (dataset UCST), unit labour costs, whole economy, UK, seasonally adjusted, 2023 = 100, released 18 August 2026: 52.2 in 1997 Q1 and 103.1 in 2024 Q1, a rise of 97.5% in cash terms (stored: `data/productivity/ons-unit-labour-costs-lnnl.json`, fetched by `scripts/productivity/fetch-ons-ulc.mjs`). Not adjusted for inflation. An economy-wide measure, not the costs of any one business, and on its own it says nothing about profit.

## Living standards

The film says real wages and household spending power are not the same as output per hour. The page compares output per hour, real pay and household income per head from 2000, and links to the cost-of-living section for housing, energy and food costs.

## Limitations

"Dan" refers to the made-up bakery in the companion film. The list of things that could help (investment, skills, technology, infrastructure, innovation) is not a costed plan.