Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market adviser at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, said:
“These latest figures offer further evidence that stronger earnings growth isn’t encouraging employers to invest in higher levels of productivity.
"Political uncertainty may have cast a shadow over some UK businesses’ confidence levels and held them back from investing over the recent past. However, with some of that uncertainty now removed, employers should be looking to improve output through greater investment in skills and technology, and not through intensifying work.
"The introduction of new migration restrictions alongside another generous uprating in the National Living Wage later this year are compelling reasons for employers to make this a priority. A failure to do this may result in job cuts in some cases. And while the government’s commitment to increasing investment in infrastructure is welcome, more business support is needed for small firms to help them make the right investment, particularly in how they manage and develop their staff.”
