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BRITAIN’S over-reliance on the service sector was exposed yesterday after official figures revealed that productivity experienced its sharpest quarterly slump since the height of the recession in 2008.
Overall productivity was down by 1.2 per cent at the end of last year, with manufacturing productivity virtually flat since the start of the decade.
The picture was worse in the production sector, with output per job down 4.9 per cent since 2010, and output per hour down 5.7 per cent.
Only in the service sector has productivity improved since the start of the decade, with output per hour up 4.4 per cent since 2010, and output per job up 6.5 per cent.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “George Osborne has been Chancellor for six years now and has made almost no progress with what may be the biggest challenge facing Britain’s economy.
“It’s about time he listened to the coalition of voices calling for more investment in infrastructure to boost productivity, as well as addressing the skills shortage.