evidence: According to the latest figures (median gross weekly pay in 2022 for full-time employees) across the 12 regions of the UK, Northern Ireland had the third lowest pay (£592), ahead of the North East of England (£575) and Yorkshire and the Humber (£579). The UK average was £640. [...] The latest figures from ONS for regions across the UK are for 2020. Using GVA (the value of an industry’s outputs less the value of intermediate inputs used in the production process) as a proxy for GDP, Northern Ireland has the lowest output per hour, closely followed by Wales. London has the highest output per hour. Analysts note that furlough affected the number of hours people worked. However, NI has nearly always been the least productive region of the UK over the last two decades. [...] While different datasets need to be accessed and compared to get a view of productivity across UK regions and Ireland, there is plenty of evidence to indicate that Northern Ireland’s productivity is the lowest in the UK and much lower than in Ireland.