UK labour productivity increases at fastest rate since financial crisis

Data for final six months of 2017 show strongest economic growth, but worker efficiency languished

The productivity of British workers in the second half of 2017 rose at the fastest rate since before the financial crisis, handing a rare boost to the government.

Labour productivity, or economic output per hour of work, rose by 0.7% in the three months to December, marking the second consecutive quarter for positive growth, the Office for National Statistics said. Together, the two periods showed the strongest growth rate seen since the second half of 2005.