iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Xiaowei Xu @xiaoweixu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Guys we've got a new puzzle: why have hours fallen so much? Based on ONS's new approach, average hours worked are down 5% since 2007 (before the financial crisis), 2% since pre-Covid.

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Reposted by Xiaowei Xu

Eduin Latimer @eduinlatimer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This really should be bigger news. Most important driver on long-term changes in living standards is productivity and recent revision to how it is measured suggests output per hour actually grew almost twice as fast from 2009 to 2019 (up from 0.7% a year to 1.3% a year)

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Xiaowei Xu @xiaoweixu.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

By the end of 2025, youth employment in payroll data was back at the level seen at the end of the first COVID lockdown. Today’s ONS figures show job vacancies have fallen a further 12% since then - suggesting an even bleaker outlook for young people entering the workforce.

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Xiaowei Xu @xiaoweixu.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Yesterday’s announcement hugely reduces the short-term cost of hiring 18-24 year olds on UC, even compared to FY2024 before the rise in youth min wage rates and employer NICs. More (bonus) charts and reflections below 🧵👇

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Reposted by Xiaowei Xu

Jakob Schneebacher @jschneebacher.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Peter put together a starter pack of my colleagues at the IFS. Follow them for high-quality, policy-relevant analysis on tax and spending, efficiency and equity, firms and workers, healthcare and education and much more.

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Reposted by Xiaowei Xu

Henry G Overman @henryoverman.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Great piece by @paulswinney.bsky.social raising serious concerns about the UK's sub-national productivity data and what it can tell us. I share his worry that misleading conclusions about a northern city miracle may already be skewing policy debates www.economicsobservatory.com/have-the-uks...

economicsobservatory.com

Have the UK’s northern cities really experienced a productivity miracle? - Economics Observatory

While official data points to a 'productivity miracle' in several large northern cities since 2019, a closer look suggests otherwise. This serves as a reminder to sense-check any data before using it,...

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Xiaowei Xu @xiaoweixu.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

The latest USoc wave lets us split out the Covid years from what came after. So striking that they look the same! Average mental ill health (based on a general screening instrument) is no better now than during the lockdown years, at any age. @alexbryson.bsky.social @dannyblanchy.bsky.social

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