LONDON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Productivity growth in London has stalled since the financial crisis, a report commissioned for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan revealed Friday.
The recession of 2008 was a serious hit for British capital's economy given the contraction of key sectors in its economic base, especially the finance and insurance sector, the 174-page report said.
Despite the setback of the recession, the report, highlighting the capital's contribution to the UK economy, describes London as a very successful economy.
The study said that running at just 0.3 percent per year on average, real productivity growth in London between 2010 and 2017 was in-line with stalling productivity in Britain.
It adds that London's level of productivity has historically been higher than in the rest of the country, between 19 percent and 31 percent higher than the UK average over the last 20 years.
"London's economy has shown a remarkable resilience in the post-recession years which other parts of the UK and of Europe lacked, especially in terms of employment growth," the report said.
Employment in London is at a record high and unemployment at a record low. The report argues that despite Brexit-related uncertainty, long-term projections still point to London as a growing economy which will continue to create new employment.
"It has performed strongly over the past 20 years in terms of output and employment growth and it is pivotal to the UK economy," the report added.
London's economic output, or GVA, increased at an average rate of 3.1 percent per year between 1998 and 2017. In 2017, London's GVA totaled 426.2 billion pounds, twice the size of the economies of Scotland and Wales put together, and accounting for 23 percent of Britain's GVA.
In addition, London's net contribution to the Exchequer in 2017/18 was around 34.3 billion pounds.
Launching two major reports Friday, Mayor Khan called for radical new devolution deal for cities and regions across Britain to guard against the uncertainty of Brexit.
The reports rebut the myth London receives more than fair share of investment compared to other parts of the country.
The findings show poverty and inequality affect London as much as anywhere in Britain, highlighting the need for significant investment to meet high demand for housing and transport.
They conclude that trade is more important to London's economy than to the UK's economy, with the British capital trading more with the rest of Britain than it does with the rest of the World.
Khan said: "This is a pivotal moment in our nation's history, to ensure greater prosperity for London and the rest of the UK, we need to see an ambitious new devolution settlement for the English cities and regions."
