Business and employment groups are calling on George Osborne to deliver growth and productivity-boosting measures in his Budget next month.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says that while growth is returning to the UK economy, it needs to be more broadly-based. It called on the chancellor to deliver fresh impetus for UK exports.

BCC chief economist David Kern said: “It is now important to improve the quality of Britain’s recovery. While it is encouraging that consumer spending is growing, we need to rely more on investment and net exports.

“The UK labour market is flexible and is creating jobs, with unemployment falling faster than expected. But youth unemployment is still too high despite recent improvements.”

Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said Mr Osborne should focus on productivity, by boosting skills and improving real wages.

Peter Cheese, CIPD chief executive, said: “Unless we address the demand side of the skills equation, we will fail to improve our poor productivity or to achieve the sustainable increases in real wages that have become such a dominant feature of the current media and political narrative."