{
  "id": 2955816,
  "title": "UK productivity growing faster than official figures suggest, thinktank finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/uk-productivity-growing-faster-than-official-figures-suggest",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-23T23:01:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/24/uk-productivity-growing-faster-official-figures-resolution-foundation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK's productivity is growing at a faster pace than official figures suggest, according to a new analysis from the Resolution Foundation. The thinktank believes that Chancellor John Healey may be inheriting an economy that is finally emerging from the economic fallout of the 2008 global financial crisis. Productivity is a crucial measure of economic health, representing the output produced by each worker. The Resolution Foundation's analysis challenges the widely criticized labour force survey and offers a more accurate snapshot of the UK workforce. Simon Pittaway, the thinktank's principal economist, stated that the country's long-standing productivity issues have contributed to economic stagnation and weak growth in living standards. However, the thinktank dismisses the idea that productivity improvements are solely due to job losses in low-skilled sectors like hospitality and retail. They argue that the share of the workforce in these sectors has not decreased, and the uptick in productivity is more widespread across various sectors of the economy. The Resolution Foundation's report comes after official figures revealed that the UK was one of the fastest-growing economies in the G7 during the first half of 2026. Similar productivity rethink has been echoed by other economists, including Rachel Reeves's former chief economic adviser, John Van Reenen, who highlighted the improvement in productivity at the London School of Economics. Morgan Stanley's chief UK economist, Bruna Skarica, also noted that the UK is currently in a positive position, with growth and inflation impacting the economy less severely than initially feared due to geopolitical tensions, such as the Iran war.",
  "summary": "Resolution Foundation suggests economy may finally be emerging from shadow of 2008 financial crisis Productivity in the UK – a vital measure of economic health – is growing more strongly than official figures suggest, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation. The thinktank suggests the chancellor, John Healey, may have inherited an economy finally starting to emerge from the long…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}