New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the economy in Cumbria is showing promising signs of a turnaround after a long spell of poor growth.
According to the latest GVA (Gross Value Added) figures, which cover 2003-4, Cumbria now has the fastest growing economy of any sub-region in the North West and the 8th fastest in the UK. The 2003-4 GVA growth rate has just been confirmed at 6.5%, well above the national average of 5.9%.
However, West Cumbria is not performing as strongly as the rest of the county. Its GVA growth for 2003-4 is 5.3%, which is lower than both the national average (5.9%) and the average for the North West (5.7%). West Cumbria has the highest reliance on "Industry" GVA of any region in England (44% of GVA).
In 2004 Cumbria's economy produced £6.44bn of GVA, an increase of 32% since 1995. However, when looking at the long-term picture between 1995 and 2004, Cumbria has significantly underperformed on the national average, which was 63% between 1995 and 2004. The average growth rate in the North West between 1995 and 2004 was 53%.
Cllr Timothy Heslop, cabinet member responsible for the economy and regeneration, said:
"These latest figures are encouraging and prove that Cumbria is continuing to show proof of an economic recovery. We have managed to reverse a long-term economic decline, but a lot of hard work still needs to be done to continue on the path of improvement. We are still seeing significant job losses in the county and we are still having to fight hard for funds to help kickstart the county's economic regeneration.
"At a time when the long-term future of the nuclear industry on the West Coast is uncertain, the fact that West Cumbria is already behind the rest of the county is a cause for concern. All key stakeholders in the county will be making sure Cumbria's voice is heard nationally and internationally to make sure we can highlight the need for investment and regeneration in the area," said Cllr Heslop.
Notes for editors
The Government uses Gross Value Added (GVA) as the principal measure of regional economic success. The figures are produced by the Regional Accounts Unit of the Office for National Statistics. In simple terms GVA is the difference between the value of monetary outputs (goods, services) and the money the business has to pay for inputs, such as raw materials, to produce the monetary outputs. These inputs and outputs are very difficult to measure accurately at a local, industry-specific, level. As a result GVA can be assessed using proxy measures. The two key proxies are wages paid to staff and operating surpluses (or profits). Wages and salaries account for around 63% of the GVA calculation while operating surpluses account for around 22%. A key assumption underlying the use of these proxy measures is that a company paying high wages and making a large profit is likely to be adding significant value to the local economy. We can look at GVA either in terms of total "productivity" or productivity per head of population.
There are 36 economic sub-regions in the UK. Between 1995-2004 Cumbria was ranked last for its GVA growth. Between 2000-2004 Cumbria was ranked 28th. Between 2003-2004 it is ranked 8th.
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