Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Labour productivity
The amount of goods and services produced for each hour worked, or for each worker.
Key term
What it means
Labour productivity compares what is produced with the labour used to produce it. The common UK measure is the amount produced per hour worked, allowing for changes in working hours. A higher figure can reflect better tools, technology, organisation or other changes; it does not mean each worker personally tried harder. Some reports use per worker instead, so check which one you are reading. When comparing years, statisticians allow for price changes rather than counting a simple rise in prices as more production.
Example
If a made-up business produces the same number and type of items in 80 hours instead of 100, its items per hour rise by 25% (100 ÷ 80 = 1.25). This is a simple illustration; official figures cover far more kinds of goods and services.
Why it matters
Productivity can help an economy raise living standards over time, but how its gains are shared also matters.
Also known as
output per hour
Related terms
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Economic growth
An increase in the goods and services an economy produces over time, after allowing for changing prices.
Read more -
Gross value added (GVA)
The value a business or industry adds by making goods or providing services, after subtracting what it bought from other businesses to do so.
Read more -
Labour share of income
The share of income generated in an economy that goes to people for their work.
Read more -
Real GDP
A measure of a country's production that removes the effect of changing prices.
Read more
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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