Trends
Growth areas
- The proportion of Working Age Population with No Qualifications (2016-2017) is falling faster than UK average but 86,036 people need to be upskilled to close the gap
- 2mJobs across the WMCA in 2016
- West Midlands is the fastest growing region in the UK for goods exports
- GVA per Head is £4,178 lower than the UK but increasing at a faster rate
- 67 business births per 10,000 population (=14,000 new business starts) compared to UK average of 63 per 10,000 population in 2016
- 11,500 net new homes in the WMCA area between 2016- 2017
- 15 day reduction in poor air quality days across the West Midlands (2016-2017)
- 9,424 new jobs created from 171 FDI projects in the West Midlands region - highest created outside London in 2017/18
- West Midlands Region has had the highest increase in workforce jobs outside London
- Gross Disposal Household Income per Person is £3,137 lower than the UK but increasing at the same rate (2015-2016)
Challenges
- Shorter Healthy Life Expectancy (2014-2016) than UK
- 43.8% The five- year Business Survival Rate is 43.8% across the WMCA vs 44.1% UK (2011-2016)
- 42,470 - 2016/17 the number of Apprenticeships increased (+1%). However, latest trends predict decline in 2017/18
- Congestion is increasing meaning only 41% of the population can access 3 centres within 45mins by public transport.
- Youth Claimants in the WMCA is remaining high at 16,265 (May 2018)
- The Output Gap is increasing, £16.9bn Unmet economic potential in 2016