We recognise that our functional economic areas stretch beyond our geographical footprint and there are several functional zones within our area, reflecting the nature of our main transport corridors. Developing our understanding of our economic geography will influence and support our strategy development and delivery mechanisms.
Our productivity is significantly below the national average, however. Output per worker for England is over £45,000 but for our economy it is less than £32,000. Our wages are more than 12% below the national average. Distance to market is a significant issue for our economy. For instance, for every 100 minutes travel time from London, productivity falls by around 6% for key firms. This fact illustrates the critical importance of providing better connections for our area. (Source Boddy et al; Meeting the Productivity Challenge 2: Update 2006).
We have a skilled workforce of some 840,200 economically active people. We are also highly dependent on public sector employment. Some 33% of our workforce is employed in public sector jobs, increasing to 40% in our urban areas. Our population is increasing above the national average and the majority of this growth is in the over 60’s, placing challenges on us in terms of service delivery, whilst also providing business opportunities.