A study into the most productive areas in England has shown that the London borough of Tower Hamlets is England’s most productive area, with its productivity 98 percent higher than the national average.
The study was undertaken by marketing training company School of Marketing, who analysed a recent government statistics which showed each local authority’s average productivity every year since 2004 to see which areas were most productive.
This was based on each aera’s “gross value added” (GVA) per hour worked. This measures the estimated value of the economic output of an area. GVA is defined as output (at basic prices) minus intermediate consumption (at purchaser prices).
This assessment indicated 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 in a very close second place, coming in with a GVA per hour of £65.58, which is 97.54 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.
The full top ten is:
| 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 to Digital Journal, Ritchie Mehta, CEO of School of Marketing, said: “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.”
