Britain moves up

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management

ISSN: 1741-0401

Article publication date: 16 March 2010

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Citation

(2010), "Britain moves up", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 59 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2010.07959cab.005

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Britain moves up

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Volume 59, Issue 3

The much-maligned British worker has achieved a marked improvement in productivity, according to recent figures from the Office for National Statistics. The ONS’s latest estimates for GDP per worker show that the UK’s record on that score is now superior to Japan and similar to that of Germany, though it still lags behind Italy, France, and, especially, the US. It, thus, remains below the average of the G7 “club” of leading advanced economies.

Of still greater significance may be the trend, which shows that British productivity has been catching up with the competition. The UK has experienced faster productivity growth than all other G7 countries since 1991, as measured by GDP per worker. By 2008, UK GDP per worker had grown by 39 per cent since 1991. In terms of GDP per hour worked, British productivity increased by 49 per cent between 1991 and 2007. This represents the fastest rate of growth of any G7 country over the period, well above the average (excluding the UK) of 36 per cent.

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