East Midlands has seen the fourth fastest rate of growth in productivity in the UK, coming after Northern Ireland, Wales and the South East, according to new analysis by PwC UK. The research shows that the East Midlands demonstrated the third biggest improvement between 2011 and 2021, when compared to equivalent regions in the UK, improving by 6.7%.
The Tracker demonstrates that the regions with some of the highest productivity growth rates between 2011 and 2021, including the East Midlands, have benefited from some of the largest amounts of investment as measured by Gross Fixed Capital Formation as a share of GVA in 2020. If such regions continue prioritising investment and are successful in translating this funding into improved efficiency, they are likely to see significant boosts to their long-term productivity rates.
The report follows the latest edition of PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index, which found that six of the seven East Midlands cities included were out-performing the UK average on delivering against the public’s priority on transport, which measures the average commuting time to work, and on work-life balance and hybrid working following the pandemic.
The new findings come as part of PwC’s look into productivity across the UK, which analyses productivity progress, with a focus on the key sectors that contribute to UK growth including manufacturing, construction, and services.
Alex Hudson, Market Senior Partner for PwC East Midlands, said:
“It’s pleasing to see the East Midlands productivity experiencing positive growth. The tracker
underlines the close relationship between strong productivity growth, talent availability and high skills levels. Skills is a key area of growth for our region, with some fantastic universities on our doorsteps and access to talent across a variety of sectors including manufacturing, technology and ESG.
“Our region continues to attract investment and will benefit further from the investment zones that were announced earlier this year, where we will receive £80m of support over five years. PwC is committed to growing in the East Midlands, using our convening power to bring together businesses and government to make positive changes for the region. Working collaboratively and focussing on some key areas for growth, such as the skills agenda, will lead to improvement across the board for the region.”