South West Economy
To invest appropriately in the development of South West
England, the RDA and its partners need to understand the economy of
the region. This understanding comes at many different
levels. It includes access to key intelligence - statistics
and analysis - about the region’s economy as a whole, how the
region relates to national and international aspects of development
and how the different parts of the region, by place and by
industry, contribute to the whole.
Part of this understanding relates to structure - the aspects of
the economy that are slow to change through time but, nonetheless,
are crucial to our appreciation of what drives productivity and
prosperity across the region and where we should look for
improvements.
Part of this understanding relates to cycles - the trends in
economic performance that vary year-by-year and often underpin
current optimism or pessimism about the future and about what the
region needs to do to progress.
According to latest figures, the regional economy was worth
£95.3 billion in 2009 - 7.7% of the total UK economy. This was a
nominal decrease of 2.1% on the 2008 value. GVA per head was
£18,211 in the same year. The Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and North
Somerset (GWNS) area continued to contribute the majority of
regional output - 53% in total.
In 2010, the median gross weekly earnings for full-time workers
in the region was £460 compared to the UK average of £499. .
The Economics and Evidence team at the RDA provides a range of
reports, briefings, data sources, research and other
intelligence. These help everyone interested in the
development of South West England to talk and act from a position
of shared understanding on all these issues.