A productivity boom. Much of the gains are down to tumbling employment in low-paying sectors – retail in particular, where jobs are being shed and hiring frozen in the face of rising labour costs. Taken together, it is hardly surprising retail employment has collapsed by more than 350,000 in the past decade. Employment costs are up; access to immigrant labour is down, and workforce participation has fallen amid rising levels of ill-health and early retirement. In the early 19th century, factory owners investing in steam-driven power looms, knitting frames and mill engines fuelled a productivity boom.

Source: The Guardian December 28, 2025 14:05 UTC