New research has revealed England’s most productive areas. This finds that a London borough – Tower Hamlets – comes out on top.
The study was conducted by the marketing training hub School of Marketing. The organisation analysed a recent government data pertaining to the economy. These data showed each local authority’s average productivity every year since 2004 to see which areas were most productive, based on their “gross value added” (GVA) per hour worked, which measures the estimated value of the economic output of an area.
Through this it was shown that Tower Hamlets is the most productive area, with its average GVA per hour worked of £65.92 being 98.3 percent higher than the national average of £33.37. The East End borough is one of four London areas that make the list.
The City of London follows, coming in with a GVA per hour of £65.58, which is 97.5 percent higher than the national average. In 2019, London’s productivity as a whole was found to be 50 percent higher than the national average.
Runnymede comes in third place on the list, with a GVA per hour worked of £57.11, which is 70.84 percent higher than the national average. It comes in as one of four Surrey areas on the list.
Taking fourth place on the list with a GVA per hour worked of £55.83 is the Reigate and Banstead area. Its price per hour worked was found to be 68.27 percent higher than the national average.
Hounslow rounds out the top five in fifth place, with a gross value added per hour worked of £55.62. The West London district was found to have a productivity rate 67.47 percent higher than the national average.
The overall rankings are:
| Rank | Area | Price per hour worked | % of National Average |
| 1 | Tower Hamlets | £65.92 | 198.30 |
| 2 | City of London | £65.58 | 197.54 |
| 3 | Runnymede | £57.11 | 170.84 |
| 4 | Reigate and Banstead | £55.83 | 168.27 |
| 5 | Hounslow | £55.62 | 167.47 |
| 6 | Slough | £54.96 | 165.17 |
| 7 | Three Rivers | £51.32 | 153.47 |
| 8 | Mole Valley | £49.85 | 149.73 |
| 9 | Elmbridge | £49.83 | 147.60 |
| 10 | Westminster | £49.28 | 147.31 |
| – | National Average | £33.37 | 100.00 |
Commenting on the findings, Ritchie Mehta, CEO of School of Marketing, tells Digital Journal: “All businesses are constantly striving to increase their productivity, and this data offers some intriguing insights into which parts of the country businesses are able to deliver the most gross value added.” Mehta adds: “For SMEs in particular this is a major challenge, so it’s essential that there is a skilled workforce able to help them deliver and adapt to the demands of an evolving economy. Training is one obvious way to improve productivity, and small business owners can take advantage of the Apprenticeship Levy scheme to bring in new staff or train current ones in digital and data-led programmes, with the vast majority of the training cost covered by the levy.”
