East Midlands

The East Midlands regional economy is around £70bn, of which about one third (£20bn) is based around the public sector. There are 4.3 million people and around 260,000 registered businesses mainly small and medium sized businesses. Manufacturing represents 23% of output and sectors that involve a high percentage of low skilled jobs are more dominant in the region.

The economic core of the East Midlands is the Three Cities sub-areas (Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and their surrounding areas). Almost half the population and 45% of the region’s businesses are in this area. But within this core there are also extreme pockets of deprivation. As the third most rural region in England, a diverse range of issues also face the more remote rural and coastal areas of the East Midlands.

Whilst the economy has high employment and relatively high levels of economic growth, it performs less well than the UK average on productivity. The East Midlands faces particular issues in relation to globalisation, as a result of their traditional strengths in manufacturing, while demographic changes are impacting alongside a lower than average skills set.