Responding to latest official productivity statistics, showing 2019 Q3 productivity rose by 0.1% compared with the same quarter a year earlier, Tej Parikh, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, said:

“The UK’s lacklustre productivity performance goes on, laying bare the challenge facing the new Government.

“A long period of uncertainty has sapped business leaders’ confidence to invest in the equipment and technology they need to drive productivity growth. Meanwhile, talent shortages and bottlenecks in our infrastructure have constrained our ability to catalyse economic activity. The UK’s decade-long struggle to raise its productivity game has in turn restrained wage growth.

“The Government’s spending ambitions for our broadband and transport networks offer some hope for uplift down the line. But long-term capital investments must not displace efforts to jump-start improvements to our business environment today. We need to provide investment incentives for SMEs, slash red tape, and widen access to training opportunities to boost productivity in the here and now.”