TL;DR
The Office for National Statistics has revised its estimate of UK productivity growth in 2009-19 to an average 1.3% a year, from 0.7%. The revision reflects a lower estimate of hours worked, not higher economic output, and places the UK in the G7’s top half on this measure rather than among the weakest performers.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revised its estimate of UK productivity growth in the decade after the financial crisis, putting the average annual rate at 1.3% from 2009 to 2019, rather than the previously estimated 0.7%. The higher figure comes from a reassessment of hours worked, not from a rise in measured economic output, and moves the UK into the top half of the G7 on the comparison described in the report.
Productivity is commonly measured as economic output per hour worked. According to MoneyWeek’s report on the ONS revision, statisticians now estimate that the UK’s productivity growth averaged 1.3% a year over 2009-19. The earlier estimate for the same period was 0.7% a year, making the revised growth rate 0.6 percentage points higher.
The change is in the estimated number of hours worked. The ONS now judges that people worked fewer hours than its previous calculations suggested. With the output figure unchanged, dividing it by a smaller estimate of hours worked produces a higher productivity figure. The revision does not mean the economy produced more than previously recorded.
The updated estimate changes the picture of the UK’s post-crisis performance relative to other major economies. MoneyWeek says the revision places Britain in the top half of the G7 for productivity, instead of leaving it as an outlier near the bottom. The supplied report does not provide country-by-country figures or the precise ranking.
How the Revision Changes Britain’s Standing
The revised series matters because productivity is used to judge how effectively an economy turns workers’ time into output. It also informs debate about the UK’s weak economic performance after the global financial crisis. A substantially higher growth estimate for 2009-19 makes that historical record look less exceptional, at least on this measure.
But the revision does not show that households, businesses or the public sector suddenly have more output to draw on. The underlying output level was not increased by this change; it is the hours-worked estimate that changed. Readers should distinguish between a better statistical estimate of output per hour and an improvement in the amount the economy actually produced.
The change may also affect comparisons with other G7 economies and the way the UK’s productivity record is described. It does not, by itself, establish that Britain has solved its productivity weakness or that the revised growth rate continued after 2019. The result applies to the specific decade covered, and the report does not set out the causes of productivity growth within it.
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The Post-Crisis Productivity Record
The revision concerns the decade from 2009 to 2019, following the global financial crisis. Before the change, official estimates put average annual productivity growth in that period at 0.7%. The new estimate is 1.3% a year, according to the account of the ONS figures published by MoneyWeek.
The two rates describe growth in output per hour, not total economic growth and not output per worker. Because the measure depends on both output and hours worked, an updated estimate for either can change the result. In this case, MoneyWeek reports that the ONS changed its assessment of hours, while the output level remained the same.
The adjustment addresses part of what has been called Britain’s productivity puzzle: the apparent weakness of productivity growth in the years after the financial crisis. The revised figures make the UK look less unusual in a G7 comparison, but they do not erase every question about the economy’s performance. The source report gives no details about the ONS’s methodology or the size of the hours revision.
„The rate of growth in the decade following the global financial crisis, from 2009-2019, was 1.3% each year, on average, rather than the 0.7% they had previously thought.“
— MoneyWeek’s report, summarising the ONS revision
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What the Revised Figures Do Not Show
The supplied account does not state when the ONS published the revision, explain the precise methodological changes, or quantify how many hours were removed from the earlier estimate. It also does not provide the revised annual figures or a country-by-country G7 comparison, so the UK’s exact position within the group cannot be established from this material.
It is also unclear from the report whether the revised estimates alter the picture for years after 2019. The stated 1.3% average covers 2009-19 only; it should not be treated as a current productivity growth rate. The source also does not explain why the earlier hours estimate changed or whether future revisions are expected.
The new calculation changes the estimated rate of productivity growth, but does not show that the UK’s output was higher or explain what drove the growth that remains in the revised series. The revision therefore alters the historical measurement and international comparison without resolving all questions about the economy’s long-term performance.
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Further Data Needed to Clarify the Change
The next step for readers seeking a fuller account is to consult the ONS release and its supporting methodology, including the revised hours-worked series and any updated annual estimates. The supplied source does not identify a forthcoming ONS publication or give a timetable for further updates.
Comparisons with other G7 economies will also depend on matching revised UK figures with comparable measures for other countries. Until detailed figures and methods are available, the reported placement in the G7’s top half is useful as a broad description, but not a precise ranking. Any assessment of recent UK productivity will require data covering years beyond 2019.
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Key Questions
What changed in the UK productivity figures?
The ONS revised its estimate of average annual productivity growth for 2009-19 from 0.7% to 1.3%, according to MoneyWeek’s report. The revision follows a change in the estimate of hours worked.
Did the UK produce more than previously recorded?
No. The reported change does not increase the measured level of economic output. It raises output per hour because the ONS now estimates that fewer hours were worked than previously calculated.
Does the revision mean Britain has fixed its productivity problem?
No. It changes the historical estimate for 2009-19 and makes Britain look less like a G7 outlier on that comparison. It does not establish that current productivity is strong or explain all the factors behind the UK’s performance.
How does the UK compare with the rest of the G7?
MoneyWeek says the revised figures put the UK in the top half of the G7 rather than among the weakest performers. The supplied report does not give an exact rank or country-by-country figures.
Source: rss
