Productivity Puzzles

Can labour shortages help raise productivity?

Productivity Puzzles

Show Notes

How do we keep our shelves stocked for Christmas? Can we be sure our favourite restaurant will stay open? Does the NHS have the staff to reduce ever-growing waiting lists? Can productivity growth help to face the challenges of rising labour shortages in the UK economy?

In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the issue of an increased shortage of workers in our economy - especially so-called “skilled blue collar workers”. Host Bart van Ark is joined Yael Selfin, a Partner and Chief Economist at KPMG; Anthony Rafferty, Professor in Employment Studies and Managing Director of the Work and Equalities Institute at The University of Manchester; and Tony Venables, Professor of Economics and the Research Director at The Productivity Institute.

Together they’ll discuss if the current labour shortages are something the UK could have been better prepared for - even before the Covid pandemic and ask if the current problems could actually be the trigger to move to a world of higher wages, better skills and higher productivity.

For more information:

- Read Tony Venables’ blog “Labour shortages, productivity and incomes” https://www.productivity.ac.uk/news/labour-shortages-productivity-and-incomes/

- Watch Practical Productivity with Mark Logan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZP71oj6zMo&t=1235s

- Listen to Episode 8 of Productivity Puzzles https://pod.co/productivity-puzzles/practical-productivity-how-to-transform-performance with Mark Logan (Aston University), Mark Hart (Glasgow University) and Paul Abraham (Capita)

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government.

The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/

Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

More from Productivity Puzzles

Oct 15, 2026

Is the UK’s recent productivity recovery a sign of lasting improvement? How could AI, technology adoption and shifting global economic conditions shape the country’s future productivity?

Jul 30, 2026

Generative AI has moved from curiosity to everyday tool with remarkable speed. But the big productivity question is not simply whether people are using it; it is whether firms, sectors and economies can turn that use into lasting productivity gains.

Jun 25, 2026

Why do firms invest when they do and not necessarily when they should? Are firms too cautious to invest? Or just realistic about uncertainty? Is the real investment gap about money or about mindset?

May 1, 2026

If one in five working‑age people are inactive, what does that say about the UK’s productivity problem? Why does ill health push so many people out of work in the UK, but not in peer countries?

Apr 30, 2026

If universities are engines of growth, why isn’t productivity accelerating? What’s the point of educating graduates if regions can’t keep or use them?

See all episodes →