Welcome to the East of England region!
Projects in this region are indicated by a ‘Tick’ symbol on the Google map above. Click on the icon to see the name and a brief description of the project. The map’s regions are sourced from 1998 Government Office Regions of England, as produced by the Office of National Statistics Mapping Unit in 2003.
| Facts and figures | ||
|---|---|---|
| East England | UK | |
| Population | 5.61m | 60.5m |
| Productivity (GVA per hour worked) | 98.5 | 100 |
| Employment rate as % of working population (GVA per hour worked) | 77 | 74.4 |
| Skills levels: % of economically active adults qualified to L4 | 27.6 | 31.1 |
| Enterprise: no. of VAT start ups / 10K population | 39 | 37 |
Regional focus
The East of England demonstrates relatively strong economic performance in comparison to other regions. It has one of the highest long-term economic growth rates in the UK, and the third highest level of economic output per head. However, on a workplace basis, it is underperforming the UK average.
SMEs make up a large percentage of the region’s business community. Entrepreneurial activity is higher than the UK average, and the share of the population considering starting a business increased between 2004 and 2005, against a decline for the UK as a whole.
Employment
The region has one of the strongest labour markets in the country, with low unemployment and economic inactivity rates. However, since 2004, labour market performance has deteriorated and there has been a shift in the nature of employment from full-time and part-time to temporary and self-employed.
There are geographic areas with persistently high unemployment, and certain groups of people are more likely to experience barriers to employment. The region displays characteristics of a labour market with low value-added, low skills and low wages.
Skills
The East of England’s skills base compares unfavourably to the UK as a whole, with a higher percentage of working age adults with low skills than the UK average. However, while relatively few businesses report skills gaps or recruitment difficulties, trends suggest that improving the skills base will be necessary to improve business performance.
To grow, the East of England economy needs people with the skills and attributes that match the available employment opportunities, and training to better meet the needs of the regional economy.
The regional economic strategy highlights some groups for particular focus: offenders and young people. Women, older people and some ethnic minority groups are also targeted for activity in ESF funding.
Community grants
Equal Invest offered an opportunity for social enterprises to access investment and expertise and leapfrog the hurdles blocking them from scaling up in both their size and their impact on the community. This programme prepared a selection of social enterprises for growth investment through structured mentoring, with additional consultant support.
Related initiatives from the Equal programme UK wide
The INSPIRE partnership undertook research and development to identify new business opportunities. It then used these models to form a new company to replicate the existing business.
Target group: Women
Hertfordshire's Support for the Economy in the Eastern Region held a very broad brief to develop the social economy. Among other achievements, the project launched a regional loan fund, developed a rural finance model, consolidated the credit unions and developed finance services for women entrepreneurs.
