Two features of the UK labour market that threaten our post-Brexit prosperity are stagnant real wage growth and historically low levels of labour productivity. Once we are released from the regulatory “yoke” of Brussels, it is argued, the animal spirits latent in the UK economy will be liberated to drive economic growth and improve living standards for all.
Even Emmanuel Macron, in notoriously over-regulated France, has decided that loosening employment protection is one way to improve labour market flexibility. His moves are being resisted by French unions, on the grounds that employers will exploit these freedoms to the detriment of workers.
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