Resolution Foundation Reports UK Productivity Exceeds Official Figures

The Resolution Foundation reports that UK productivity is growing more strongly than official figures indicate, suggesting the economy is emerging from the long-term stagnation that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. Using a workforce snapshot the thinktank argues is more accurate than the standard labour force survey, the analysis found that worker output has improved in recent years. This contradicts official data which showed a decline in productivity during the mid-2020s.

Principal economist Simon Pittaway rejected theories that these gains were driven by an early AI boom or by workers leaving low-productivity sectors such as retail and hospitality. He stated that the recovery was instead achieved by the same workers doing the same jobs within the same sectors.

These findings align with other optimistic indicators, including research from the London School of Economics and official data showing the UK as the joint fastest-growing G7 economy in the first half of 2026. Morgan Stanley has also described the UK economy as being in an OK place.