Thanks for this post, @revisesociology! It's an interesting twist that part of the UK productivity slowdown may be a statistical artifact, and that counting people on holiday as working makes the numbers look worse than reality. I also appreciate that you point out the limits: output and living standards don't change, and the adjustment assumes people take their full entitlement.

I live in Italy, where holidays are taken very seriously, so the idea of "five days to do what the French do in four" made me smile.

Do you think this correction will change how UK policy makers talk about productivity, or will the narrative of a long slowdown stay?