Most of the old economic certainties have gone.
For many years, the ‘rule’ was the as unemployment levels dropped, wages would rise (to entice workers away from others to your organisation). Since the great 2008 financial crisis, this has not proved true. Unemployment has dropped to the point where the UK is close to full employment – but wages have not risen correspondingly (though they have risen).
This position is mirrored throughout the developed world.
The experts don’t seem to know why this is so or whether this is a temporary phenomenon.
We seem to be in a position where all we can do is ‘watch this space’, ‘wait and see’.
Or, as I have been suggesting in this blog lately, do we need to change the way in which we measure productivity – to reflect the changed nature of industry.