Labour productivity in the UK, as measured by output per hour, grew by 1.4% in the second quarter of 2018 ended June when compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to new data published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

ONS added that productivity is still performing well below the 2% average.

When compared with Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2018, UK labour productivity increased by 0.5% in Q2 2018 due to a fall in the number of actual hours worked and stronger output growth.

Labour productivity in the services industries grew by 0.9% in Q2 2018 compared with the previous quarter, while productivity in manufacturing industries decreased by 0.1% over the same period.

Productivity hours worked decreased by 0.1% in Q2 2018 compared with the previous quarter, while the number of jobs increased by 0.1% over the same period. Comparing with the same quarter a year ago, productivity hours worked decreased by 0.2%, while the number of jobs increased by 0.9% respectively.

Earnings and other labour costs growth outpaced productivity growth, resulting in unit labour cost growth of 2.0% in the year to Q2 2018, down from the 2.7% growth in the year to Q1 2018.

Last month, the ONS published employment figures for the period from May to July 2018 which showed employment at 75.5% and unemployment falling to record lows (4.0%).