Poor productivity and high housing costs are driving a ‘living standards exodus’ from London

a post by Stephen Clarke for the Resolution Foundation blog

As a Londoner it’s fair to say that as a city we’re quite good at giving ourselves a pat on the back (though apparently self-loathing Londoners are a thing too). It’s often suggested that London is an economic powerhouse, productive, innovative and leaving the rest of the country in its wake. However new research by the Resolution Foundation suggests that London could do with a bit of self-examination as well as backslapping.

London’s economy is different, and in a good way. The average worker in London produces a third more per hour than the UK average. As a share of the workforce, twice as many people work in professional, scientific or technical roles than in other major UK cities. London’s economy has grown faster than the UK as a whole since the crisis.

But wait. When it comes to productivity growth – probably the most pressing economic challenge facing the UK – far from racing away, London’s economy is actually holding the country back. Productivity growth in the capital has been negative since the crisis.

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There are lots of charts that show the changes very clearly.

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