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In this Briefing Note, we briefly describe trends in UK productivity over the recent recession - which ran from the first quarter of 2008 to the last quarter of 2009 - and how they compare with those in the US.

Section 2 describes the path of output and hours worked, and shows how this has translated into labour productivity. Section 3 compares the changes in hours worked and the number of workers. Section 4 concludes.

    Authors

    Rachel Cassidy
    Rachel Griffith

    CPP Co-Director

    Rachel is Research Director and Professor at the University of Manchester. She was made a Dame for services to economic policy and education in 2021.

    Helen Miller
    Helen Miller

    Director

    Helen joined the IFS in 2007. She has almost two decades of experience analysing UK fiscal policy and providing trusted advice to policymakers. 

    Report details

    DOI
    10.1920/bn.ifs.2010.0097
    Publisher
    Institute for Fiscal Studies

    Suggested citation

    Griffith, R and Miller, H. (2010). UK productivity in the recession. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/uk-productivity-recession (accessed: 19 July 2025).

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