Productivity growth not sufficient, warns business productivity group

New figures have highlighted an increase in national productivity, but Be the Business believes that after a decade of under-performance, UK businesses must do better in the years ahead.

Today, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published statistics showing that UK productivity levels continued to increase last quarter, with overall productivity in the UK rising by 0.8 per cent between October and December 2017. The new figures are a reduction on the 0.9 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

Tony Danker, chief executive at Be the Business, said: “While the improvement reported today is a welcome one, we should not assume that we have even begun to tackle the UK’s long-standing productivity problem.

“We’re already a decade behind our competitors, so after weak productivity performance in 2017, business owners should make productivity a priority in 2018. As a nation we must show ambition and make productivity growth the engine of our competitiveness.

“As the UK prepares for Brexit, challenges for business continue to grow, from margins being squeezed to higher input and labour costs. Smart productivity strategies should be on the mind of every business.”