Philip Hammond could be putting the UK on course for another recession

Falling real incomes, rising debt and low productivity are pushing us towards the danger zone - and measures announced in the budget may not be enough

On the historical average, Philip Hammond should be worried. Recessions have tended to occur once in every decade since the 1970s, and we're now almost 10 years from the start of the last one.

But while Brexit might be the obvious catalyst - for which the chancellor earmarked 3bn in emergency funding at the budget - two lost decades of earnings growth and more austerity to come should be just as troubling. In this regard, Hammond may be putting us all on course for another crash.

Related: Brexit has created a political climate no budget can fix | Martin Kettle

Productivity is an economic measure of the efficiency of a workforce. It typically measures the level of output per hour of work, or per worker.