City Boosted By Tech Sector
Birmingham is set to be one of the fastest growing economies by the end of this year according to a new report by Irwin Mitchell.
The law firm’s latest UK Powerhouse study, reveals that GVA is expected to grow by 1.2% across the city in the year to Q4 2020, taking the total value of the economy to £28.3bn.
According to the report, which has been produced by the Centre for Economics & Business Research (Cebr), Birmingham continues to be boosted by its technology industry.
The study points to the recently announced virtual reality hub which is to be opened by Birmingham City University following an investment of £3.4m and highlights the willingness of organisations to invest in the thriving city and support the region’s booming tech sector.
Other locations in the West Midlands are not expected to perform as well with Coventry’s economy growing by 0.8% and Wolverhampton expecting growth of 0.7% in the 12 months to Q4 2020.
Stoke-on-Trent came out top in the employment growth league table with an annual growth of 2.2%.
Expert Opinion
“Although most cities including those in the West Midlands are seeing a slowing of growth in the coming quarters, there are signs of resilience in Birmingham in the face of Brexit-related uncertainty and a global economic slowdown. The average annual growth rate across the 46 cities in the study is expected to be just 0.9% in Q4 2020, so Birmingham’s figure of 1.2% reflects well on the city.” Chris Rawstron - Partner