Regional economic indicators with a focus on differences in sub-regional economic performances

Abstract

This quarter, the regional economic indicators article focuses on explaining the differences in sub-regional Gross Value Added (GVA) per head between 2002 and 2007. This time series analysis splits the differences into five explanatory factors: productivity (defined as GVA per hour worked), hours worked per job, employment rate, commuting rate and activity rate. The regular part of the article then gives an overview of the economic activity of UK regions in terms of their GVA, GVA per head and labour productivity. This is followed by a presentation of headline indicators of regional welfare, other drivers of regional productivity and regional labour market statistics. The indicators cover the nine Government Office Regions of England and the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These 12 areas comprise level 1 of the European Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS level 1) for the UK. The term 'region' is used to describe this level of geography for convenience in the rest of this article.