Labor Shortages Help Drive UK Into £55 Billion Fiscal Hole
- OBR to cut potential growth forecast to reflect staff crisis
- UK faces deficit approaching £100 billion without action
A staff wanted sign in the window of a restaurant in London.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Chronic labor shortages have shrunk the growth potential of the UK economy and punched a huge hole in the public finances, the Office for Budget Responsibility will reveal in its forecasts on Thursday.
The independent fiscal watchdog will say that elevated inactivity levels are now a cost to everyone in the UK, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.