WMG Executive Chair welcomes strong return to growth and calls for focus on innovation, investment and skills as Q3 West Midlands GDP shows highest fall across England and Wales compared to the same time last year.

Margot James, Executive Chair of WMG, at the University of Warwick, commented on the Regional GDP figures released today by the Office of National Statistics, saying:

“It’s great news that the West Midlands made a strong return to growth in July to September 2020, with growth of 16.8% compared to April to June 2020, three months that covered much of the first lockdown.

However, despite this return to growth, the data shows our regional economy, was the most affected by the pandemic of any part of England and Wales, with regional GDP down 11.3% compared to a year ago.

Much of this was driven by our manufacturing sector being down by 25.2% versus the same period in 2019, although the sector made a quick return to growth when compared to the previous quarter, with an increase of 18.5% against April-June 2020.

The rapid return to growth shows the resilience and strength of our regional economy and I’m confident that our makers have continued to recover over the months since the period covered by this data.

However, the scale of the economic shock in our region caused by the pandemic highlights the importance of supporting growth in the West Midlands by investing in the skills, research, and development and infrastructure needed to support entrepreneurs, attract investment and prepare businesses for the challenges of digitisation and the transition to a zero carbon economy. Attracting major investments like a Gigafactory to our region will be key to a strong recovery.”

Notes: The ONS release of Regional GDP is available here:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/output/articles/ukeconomylatest/2021-01-25#regionalgdp