U.K. Productivity Projected to Worsen Further in 2019

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s dismal productivity performance is set to worsen this year.

Output per hour will probably rise just 0.2 percent in 2019, according to a report by the Conference Board, an American research group. That’s low compared with the U.S., Germany and France, with the country experiencing the biggest drop in labor productivity growth since the financial crisis.

Many economists say that Brexit will exacerbate the problem as Britain is deprived of productivity-enhancing foreign innovation and investment. The U.K. is the only mature economy where productivity growth is set to slow this year, the report showed.

The Office for National Statistics said earlier this month that productivity increased just 0.5 percent last year, compared with rates averaging more than 2 percent in the decade before 2008.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.