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Recession hits SW population growth - a little less
pressure on housing but not good for growth
24 June 2010
By Donald Barr, Economics and Evidence Manager.
Figures published today by the Office for National Statistics,
estimate that the resident population in the South West region grew
by 0.4% in the year to mid-2009, barely half of the pre-recession
rate and well below the UK average.
According to these estimates, since the start of the recession
annual net international migration has dropped below zero -
more are leaving than arriving - and internal migration has
fallen by a third from 29,000 a year to 19,000. These are
understandable effects of the recession as the UK generally has
become a less attractive destination for European workers, and
conditions in the housing and investment markets have created very
difficult conditions for many who would otherwise have been
planning to retire to the region.
Although this slowing in the rate of population growth offers a
slight amelioration for the imbalance between supply and demand in
the housing market, this is almost certainly outweighed by drastic
fall in new home building over the same period. For the SW economy
more generally, there will clearly be less growth arising from
the inflow of migrant workers and there will be a smaller benefit
from the wealth brought by people retiring to the region.