Labour productivity measures the economic output of individual workers in a specified geographic area. ONS regional and subregional labour productivity statistics are published annually. The latest release included data up to and including 2023, released about 18 months after the end of that year.
The ONS’s preferred measure of labour productivity is GVA (Gross Value Added) per hour worked. This better takes account of different employment structures such as variations in hours worked when compared to alternative measures such as GVA per job or GVA per worker. For example, in the 2023 data, North East jobs averaged 29.7 hours per week compared to 30.6 across the UK. Using an alternative to the hours worked measure would, therefore, underestimate North East productivity.
GDP or GVA per head measures are often used to compared the economic output of areas of different sizes. However, theses are not measures of productivity as the rates are based on the resident population of an area rather than on any measure of workers in its workplaces.
The statistical release includes chained volume measures (CVM) that provides information about the unsmoothed labour productivity time series with the effects of inflation removed. For consistency between charts, this report focuses on unsmoothed data, although the ONS also provides rates that have been smoothed to reduce volatility over time for smaller areas.
Trends in North East labour productivity
£37.97
North East GVA per hour worked, 2023
Lower than the equivalents
for UK (£44.35) and
UK excl. London (£41.49).
+40%
change in latest decade, including inflation effects
North East 2013 to 2023,
current price measure.
+6.9% in year to 2023.
UK: +42% and +8.5%.
+11%
change in latest decade, excluding inflation effects
North East 2013 to 2023,
chained volume measure.
-1.5% in year to 2023.
UK: +7% and -0.2%.
+5.6%
change in total hours in latest decade
North East 2013 to 2023.
GVA increased by 48%.
In the Covid year of 2020:
Hours -12.1%; GVA -6.9%;
GVA per hour +6.0%.
Geographic comparisons
11th
highest GVA per hour worked out of 15
CA (combined authority)
areas in England.
2023, current price measure.
London 1.5 times higher.
£43.30
North Tyneside GVA per hour worked, 2023
Highest of the seven
North East LA areas.
Lowest: South Tyneside
(£31.39).
3rd
highest ten year % change in GVA per hour worked
out of 15 English CA areas,
2013 to 2023.
Chained volume measure,
excluding inflation effects.
10th
ranked out of 15 for latest annual % change
English CA areas, 2022-23.
One of eight where GVA per hour
decreased over the year,
excluding inflation effects.
Productivity by industry
The ONS no longer publishes sub-national labour productivity estimates broken down by industry sector. This information is regularly published for the UK as a whole and this chart includes national labour productivity estimates from 2023 for 16 broad sectors, expressed as GVA per hour worked.
The national productivity estimates for each sector are mapped onto their GVA-based location quotients (LQs) for the North East in 2023.
LQs measure how important a sector is to the area's total economic output compared to its importance across the UK. For example, manufacturing was responsible for about 16.8% of North East GVA compared to 10.2% of the UK's, giving a LQ of about 1.6.
Manufacturing and public administration (including defence) had the highest and second highest North East LQs and the fifth and sixth highest UK productivity levels of the 16 in 2023.
However, the three sectors with particularly high productivity levels nationally (finance, real estate, and non-manufacturing production) were outside of the five sectors with the highest GVA-based LQs in the North East.
Four sectors of particular importance to North East economic output had UK productivity levels below that for all sectors in 2023. These were health and care; education; construction; and "other services", a category that includes services relating to personal well-being.
Further analysis
Economy theme page
The evidence hub's economy theme page provides links to reports on trends in the North East's economic output.
North East GDP
A report highlighting trends in the North East's gross domestic product (GDP).
Regional and subregional labour productivity (source)
The ONS annual release of local and regional estimates of GVA per hour worked.
UK productivity overview (source)
ONS's quarterly overview of UK productivity, including national productivity by sector data.