General information on the North West

The North West of England is home to 6.8m people, the third most populous Government Office Region behind the South East and London. In broad terms, the North West accounts for just under 12 per cent of the UK population, over 11 per cent of employment and over 10 per cent of UK GDP.

The region is home to two major international airports in Liverpool and Manchester, which provide a base for the regions tourism sector. Tourism plays an important role in the regions economy and is area of new growth, with each North West region being able to attract significant number of tourists.

The region is a very diverse one, with 8 universities. This is one of the largest concentrations in Europe and means that the region has an estimated 50,000 graduates per year. This also means that the region is a centre for educational excellence and research.

In the last 20 years the Northwest economy has built on and diversified from its traditional strengths in the textiles, shipping and engineering to develop and benefit from modern, hi-tech sectors including ICT, biotechnology, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and telecommunications. The Northwest retains its position as lead the UK manufacturing region, just ahead of the South Eas t. According to the latest figures, which relate to 2002, the importance of manufacturing to the Northwest has steadily declined in recent years. However, in relative terms it remains more important to the regional economy than is the case nationally.

In 2003 the Northwest was ranked eighth on GDP per head, at £14,346. London had the highest level of GDP per head, at £20,990 whilst Wales had the lowest, at £12,629. GDP per head of population in the Northwest was 10 per cent below the UK average in 2003. GDP per head of population, relative to the UK, was highest in London, at 31 per cent above the UK average.

Job creation announcements in the Northwest in the last 12 months have again been dominated by service sector growth as call centers/service centers continue to expand, while the retail/distribution sector also enjoyed several notable successes. The retail/distribution sector in the region has continued to prosper with several notable announcements over the last 12 months. John Lewis is to open a full-line department store in Manchester's Trafford Centre in 2005 with the creation of 600 new jobs. The 200,000sq ft store will trade over two floors in the Festival Village area of the centre, currently occupied by small independents.

The business start up rate in the Northwest, at 42 per 10,000 working age population, is similar to regions outside of London and the South East, and 84.9% of the national rate. There has been modest growth in business starts in the Region since 1995 when the start-up rate was 81.7% of that for England and Wales. This gap has closed especially with London and the South East where the business base has been more prone to shocks affecting financial and ICT services.

44 per cent of all overseas-owned companies in the Northwest originate from other Member States of the EU; with German and Dutch companies the most represented investors. Over a quarter of overseas-owned companies are North American.

Over the past 12 months the Northwest economy has experienced a mixed economic performance. The region has benefited from its depth of service sector activity, which has largely driven rising employment levels. Business confidence was strong in the Northwest during the first half of 2004; however conditions in the wider economy have had detrimental effects resulting in confidence weakening in the third quarter.

Driven mainly by service sector employers, employmentrates in the region have bucked the recent national trend and continue to grow – eroding the gap between the Northwest and the UK. Unemployment has fallen markedly over recent years and now stands the same as the UK average.

Area Profiles

Cheshire
Cheshire is home to 986,000 people, and is famous for Chester zoo, its Roman Walls and salt industry amongst other things. The Cheshire economy is worth 17 million pounds. The region is an affluent one with a GVA well above the current regional average.

Cumbria
Cumbria has a thriving tourism sector and is home to one of Britain’s largest national parks. The region is home to 486,000 people, with an economy worth 5.5 billion. This is despite the fact that the region is a sparsely inhabited rural region with a population density of 72 compared to a regional average of 480.

Greater Manchester
Manchester attracts an average of 560,000 visitors per year, which is the third highest figure in the UK after London and Edinburgh. The area is populated by 2,500,000 people and has an economy worth 36.5 million. The city attracted worldwide recognition after it hosted the first ever fully integrated commonwealth games in 2002.

Lancashire
Blackpool pleasure beach is the most visited attraction in the UK, with more people visiting the Blackpool tower each year than Vatican City. 1,422,000 people call the region home, with the tourism sector contributing significantly to the regions 18.1 billion a year economy.

Merseyside
Liverpool is gearing up to be Europe’s city of culture in 2008, something which is sure to boost the cities economy which is currently worth 15.3 billion. Some 1,300,000 people currently reside in the region. Though current employment levels stand at 7.2%, which is 2% more than the regional average.