The North East economy in a different light: Some slides you won’t have seen Chief Economist – North East LEP

The North East LEP area is a great place to be an employer …and median wages are very competitive Labour productivity (GVA per hour worked) growing at fastest rate in the country

This is reflected in output and business formation data… GVA per head growing among highest rates in the country… …while births and deaths of businesses (as % of registered businesses) are on a par with the national figures...

But the North East is also a great place to be an employee: For someone on median income, real wages (which account for cost of living) are among the highest in the country Median income of full time employees, expressed in North East prices, 2012

Ratio of 90 th to 10 th percentile of hourly pay (all employees) And the North East has some of the most equal distribution of wages in the country

Source: Prepared with data from ONS, release 12 December 2013 Gross Value Added per person, 2012 (current basic prices) Current £ However, levels are still a way off and challenges remain…

Taken from the North East Independent Economic Review, except far right bar (prepared with data from BIS)

Qualification profile – North East LEP vs. England -is it an age issue? Source: Prepared with data from ONS Data for 2013

…and our young are achieving really great GCSEs: No one else in the country gets a greater % of students achieving 5 A*-C GCSEs. And we’ve been topping this table since 2008…. … which, combined with our productivity and income advantages means a greater future for those in employment in the North East

Wages catching up as a result of productivity gains… North East weekly gross pay as % of England (all workers)

…and the same with Gross Disposable Household Income per capita (both in long and short run)

Source: HMRC, figures released 6 march 2014 Foreign trade in goods: only English region with consistent positive trade balance in goods every year Imports and exports, goods, 2013 On a per capita basis, exports perform above national average.

So, what do the young and the current workforce and employers need? -Greater digital and physical connectivity: locally, nationally, internationally -Private sector innovation and investment: embed productivity gains and competitiveness -Inclusive growth: wage equality for employees not yet matched with inclusivity across the population –outcomes for women, older workers, ethnic minorities need to improve In terms of employment, the ambition of our Strategic Economic Plan is to reach 1 million people in employment in the North East LEP by 2024

A record number of people are in employment in the North East: 1.2 million in employment in North East (approx 900k in the North East LEP). Feb-Apr 2014: increase of 47,000 compared to same quarter last year (7 times Nissan). Employment rate reached 69.5% (for UK it was 72.9%). This is the highest value since mid 2007, and very high for North East (record 69.8%) The employment rate increase on previous year is more than double that of UK and higher than any other region (also compared to previous quarter). Largest drop in labour market inactivity: Economic Inactivity rate of the labour force went down by 3 percentage points compared to same quarter last year, by far the largest drop in the country (six times the size of the UK drop). Economic activity is at a record high 77.2% (just 1% below UK). Our employment is increasing mainly as a consequence of decrease in inactivity, which is badly needed by the North East. And some of it is happening now – Latest labour market news for the North East from ONS:

The best picture of North East’s success….