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According to the latest data, in 2009 the Gross Value Added of Cornwall & IoS economy was £7.0bn. This represented a fall of 2.6% from 2008, highlighting the effects of the early part of the recession (comparing to a decline of 1.9% in the wider South West).
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The GVA per head at current basic prices in 2009 was £13,129, representing a fall of 2.9% from 2008. The marginally greater fall in the GVA per head measure, compared to the headline GVA figure, is due to the population of the area growing slightly faster than economic growth during that year. GVA per head was 65.6% of the UK average – taking it back to the relative level seen in 2007.
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In terms of output, Cornwall’s largest sectors are distribution, transport, accommodation & food (24.7% of GVA) and public administration, education and health (23.5%). Since 2000 the financial & insurance GVA grew by 236%, whilst growth in traditional sectors such as production (inc. manufacturing) and agriculture were much lower, at 17% and 35% respectively. This shows that the long-term shift into the service sector seen nationally has also occurred in the Cornwall LEP area.
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The average (median) annual gross earnings in 2011 was £17,574, representing a fall of 1.9% since 2010. This reflects the pressure of earnings growth experienced in the wider economy. Male earnings particularly suffered a decline of 3.9% with female earnings proving more robust with an annual decline of 0.6%. Despite this, average female earnings are still only 66% of average male levels[1].
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There were a total of 10,220 claimants in the area in December 2011, 3.1% of the working age population. The ILO defined unemployment measurement is higher at 7.5%, the highest in any of the LEP areas. The claimant count increased relatively quickly in the latter part of 2011, increasing from 2.5% in July 011. This could highlight sustained weakness in the labour market.
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Long term unemployment remains an issue, approximately 1 in 8 (1,200) of all claimants have been claiming for over 12 months. 29.6% have been claiming for more than 6 months, compared to 22.7% in June 2008 – the start of the present economic downturn. The majority of claimants and long-term claimants tend to be men.
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In 2010, there were 1,525 business births in the LEP area, a fall of 8.1% from the number of births in 2009. There were 2,140 business deaths in the same year, an annual fall of 1.4%.
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As a consequence of the excess of business deaths over births, there were 19,755 active enterprises in the LEP area at the end of 2010, a fall of 3.2% from the previous year.
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Just under half (49%) of all enterprises that started activity in 2005, were still trading in 2010. Approximately 1 in 4 firms started in 2008 had ceased trading by 2010.
It should be noted that confidence intervals for earnings data at a sub-regional level are typically wide, so caution needs to applied in any analysis.
