JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) -Britain faces an “acute challenge” over its weak underlying economic growth and reduced labour force participation since the COVID-19 pandemic, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Saturday.

Speaking at an annual conference in Wyoming organised by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bailey said an ageing population and an apparent illness-driven drop in working by younger Britons increased the need for efforts to boost economic productivity.

“Going back to this question about potential growth rates, that puts even more emphasis on raising productivity growth,” he said. “Ageing is not going to turn around in the foreseeable future.”

Bailey said the central bank had turned its focus away from long-term trends in unemployment to looking at levels of labour

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