The Everyday Economy in the West Midlands Combined Authority area

Published 08 April 2025
Updated 23 April 2025

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Recent industrial policy and strategies for economic growth have often prioritised a few high-tech export sectors, with a focus on raising output through productivity improvements. While such approaches may lead to higher gross domestic product (GDP) in certain parts of a region's economy, they risk overlooking those parts where the majority of people are employed, which provide the services and goods that provide the underpinning of daily life in any place. These Everyday Economy (EE) sectors and occupations are vital to achieving broad-based, inclusive economic development and improvements in living standards. In this report commissioned by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the New Economics Foundation (NEF) develop a definition of the EE in the city-region in alignment with the WMCA's Inclusive Growth Framework; provide an evidence base on the current state of the EE; its composition, challenges and opportunities; create case studies of innovative approaches to supporting the EE; and make policy recommendations for how the WMCA can support and grow the EE in future.