New data has been released on relative productivity for the UK and other G7 nations. In 2013, based on GDP per hour, the UK came sixth of the G7 countries, with the USA top and Japan bottom. UK productivity was 17 percentage points lower than the average for the rest of the G7, the widest productivity gap since 1992. In absolute terms, UK output per hour fell slightly in 2013 compared with 2012, contrasting with an increase of 1.0% across the rest of the G7.The relatively low level of labour productivity is a key supply-side issue for the UK economy to address. What factors do you think contribute to our output per hour lagging behind other advanced countries? Why does it matter?

GDP per capita for the UK compared to other advanced economies

More background reading:

The UK productivity puzzle: http://www.cityam.com/1413716238/uk-productivity-g...