The economy of Birmingham, England, is an important manufacturing and engineering centre, employing over 100,000 people in the industry and contributing billions of pounds to the national economy. During 2013, the West Midlands region as a exported goods worth £19.6 billion, around 8.73% of the national total.

The economy of Birmingham is dominated by the service sector, which accounted for 88% of the city's employment in 2012. In 2023, the median salary for full-time employees in Birmingham was £34,037, with an unemployment rate of 7.7%.

Birmingham is the largest centre in Great Britain for employment in public administration, education and health; and after Leeds the second-largest centre outside London for employment in financial and other business services.

The wider metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121.1 billion (2014 estimate, PPP). Major companies headquartered in Birmingham include the engineering company IMI plc, Mobico Group, Patisserie Valerie, Claire's, and Mitchells & Butlers; including the wider metropolitan area, the city has the largest concentration of major companies outside London and the South East. hosting headquarters for Gymshark and Severn Trent Water. With major facilities such as the National Exhibition Centre and International Convention Centre, Birmingham attracts 42% of the UK's total conference and exhibition trade.

Birmingham was second only to London for the creation of new jobs between 1951 and 1961, and unemployment rarely exceeded 1% between 1948 and 1966. By 1961, household incomes in the West Midlands (county) were 13% above the national average, exceeding even London and the South East. In 2012, manufacturing accounted for 8% of the employment in Birmingham, a figure below the average for the UK as a whole. Major industrial plants in the city include Jaguar Land Rover in Castle Bromwich and Cadbury in Bournville, with large local producers also supporting a supply chain of precision-based small manufacturers and craft industries. More traditional industries also remain: 40% of the jewellery made in the UK is still produced by the 300 independent manufacturers of the city's Jewellery Quarter, continuing a trade first recorded in Birmingham in 1308.

Birmingham was also one of the founding cities for the Eurocities group and is also sitting as chair. Birmingham is considered to be a 'Beta-' global city, rated as the joint second most globally influential city in the UK after London. Birmingham has the second largest city economy in the UK after London and was ranked 72nd in the world in 2008. With 16,281 start-ups registered during 2013, Birmingham has the highest level of entrepreneurial activity outside London, while the number of registered businesses in the city grew by 8.1% during 2016. Birmingham was behind only London and Edinburgh for private sector job creation between 2010 and 2013.

Economic indices Below is a collection of economic indices featuring Birmingham. It is important to remember that while useful, surveys and indicators have limitations, and are at times subjective and incomplete. For example, no complete list of factors affecting the quality of life can be created, and the way people weigh these factors differs.

Quality of life 10th in the UK for quality of life (2013), according to a rating of the UK's 1st largest cities, ahead of Sheffield and Bradford who rank 11th and 12th respectively. The cities were assessed on a range of factors including property market activity, rental costs, salary levels, disposable income growth, cost of living, unemployment rates and life satisfaction. 52nd-most liveable city in the world in 2010, according to the Mercer Index of worldwide standards of living, 19th in the UK amongst big cities for 'cycle-friendliness' (2010). Overall 9th most deprived Local Authority in England according to the 2010 Indices of Deprivation, which takes into account: income; employment; health and disability; education, skills and training; barriers to housing and services; crime; and living environment. Most deprived Local Authority in England in terms of income deprivation. Most deprived Local Authority in England in terms of employment deprivation.

Business Cushman & Wakefield European Cities Monitor (2010) – A survey based on the views of 500 European businesses of Europe's leading business cities. Overall 18th in Europe, 3rd in the UK after London and Manchester, best city to locate a business based on factors which are disaggregated below. 9th in Europe, 2nd in the UK after London, for ease of access to markets, customers or clients. 16th in Europe, 3rd in the UK after London and Manchester, for best-qualified staff. 15th in Europe, 3rd in the UK after London and Manchester, for quality of telecommunications. 11th in Europe, 3rd in the UK after London and Manchester, for external transport links to other cities and internationally. 5th in Europe, 3rd in the UK after Leeds and Glasgow, in terms of value for money of office space. 15th in Europe, 4th in the UK after Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester, for the cost of staff. 4th in Europe, 2nd in the UK after Manchester, for the availability of office space. 16th in Europe, 4th in the UK after London, Manchester and Glasgow, for climate governments create for businesses. 11th in Europe, 2nd in the UK after London, in terms of languages spoken. 18th in Europe, 4th in the UK after London, Manchester and Leeds for ease of travelling around within the city.

In the same survey, when asked how well companies know each of the cities as a business location, 28% said they were familiar with Birmingham as a business location. This was the third-highest in the UK after London (82%) and Manchester (33%).

GVA

+Nominal GVA for Birmingham 2008–2013. Note 2013 is provisional Year GVA (£ million) Growth (%) 2008 21,015 2009 20,646 1.8% 2010 21,557 4.4% 2011 22,230 3.1% 2012 22,708 2.2% 2013 24,067 6.0% In 2013, Birmingham's GVA was £24.1bn, accounting for 21.8% of the GVA of the West Midlands (region), and 1.6% of the GVA of the UK. Compared with other NUTS 3 city areas, its GVA is exceeded only by London (comprising five NUTS 3 areas – £309.3bn) and Greater Manchester South (£34.8bn).

+Total GVA, 2013 Area GVA (£ million) GVA growth (%) 2012–13 GVA (£ per head) GVA per head growth (%)2012–13 Birmingham 24,067 6.0% 22,033 5.3% West Midlands (region) 110,246 3.4% 19,428 2.8% UK 1,525,304 3.4% 23,755 2.5% The increase in GVA in 2013 was particularly strong when compared to previous years (increase in GVA of 2.2% in the period 2011–2012 for Birmingham).

Productivity GVA per employee in Birmingham is estimated to be £42,800 in 2012. It is ranked 6th among the major cities and conurbations in the UK, and ranked 3rd among the Core Cities behind London (£75,100), Edinburgh (£54,100), Leeds (£46,900), Greater Manchester South (£46,500) and Glasgow (£44,700).

+GVA per employee, 2012 Area GVA per worker (£) GVA per worker % change 2007–12 Birmingham 42,800 9% Core Cities average 40,700 10.6% excluding Birmingham, included Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield

GVA by sector

+Industry breakdown, 2012 Sector Value (£ millions)Growth 2011–12(%)% of total Agriculture, forestry and fishing 4 20 0.02 Production 2,702 1 11.9 - of which manufacturing 2,170 5 9.1 Construction 1,103 7 4.9 Distribution; transport; accommodation and food 3,936 12 17.3 Information and communication 776 2 3.4 Financial and insurance services 2,459 3 10.8 Real estate activities 2,998 9 13.2 Business service activities 2,643 4 11.6 Public administration, education and health 5,402 2 23.8 Other services and household activities 684 4 3.0 Total 22,708 2

GDP

According to the 2012 Eurostat figures, GDP per capita (in euros) of Greater Manchester is = €27,500 just ahead of the West-Midlands with €26,600 but only half the GDP per capita of Dublin €57,200 or London with €54,200.

Greater Manchester has a total GDP of €74.398 bn, West Midlands has a total GDP of €73.538 bn but less than the €85.700 bn in Greater Dublin and €450.379 bn in Greater London.

Employment, welfare and education The mid-year estimate for the population of Birmingham was 1,085,400 in 2012 and population growth was estimated to be 1.04%, the 4th highest of the Core Cities after Nottingham (1.59%), Manchester (1.56%) and Newcastle (1.2%).

Employment

+Employment Statistics (Jul 2012 – Jun 2013) Age 16–64 Birmingham (%) West Midlands (%) Great Britain (%) Economically active 69.9 76.2 77.3 In employment 57.5 69.0 71.1 Unemployed 16.5 9.2 7.8 Economically active who are self-employed 7.1 8.8 9.5

Earnings +Earnings by residence 2013 Full-time workers Birmingham (£) West Midlands (£) Great Britain (£) Weekly pay (all workers) 478.6 483.0 518.1 Male 514.2 527.8 558.8 Female 423.5 421.5 459.8 Gender pay gap 17.6% 20.1% 17.7% Hourly pay (all workers) 12.21 12.24 13.18 Male 12.61 12.88 13.80 Female 11.42 11.20 12.27 Gender pay gap 9.4% 13.0% 11.1% Median earnings in pounds for employees living in Birmingham

+Earnings by workplace 2013 Full-time workers Birmingham (£) West Midlands (£) Great Britain (£) Weekly pay (all workers) 518.6 484.6 517.8 Male 568.3 527.0 558.3 Female 453.3 417.1 459.6 Gender pay gap 20.2% 20.9% 17.7% Hourly pay (All workers) 13.46 12.24 13.17 Male 14.27 12.90 13.80 Female 12.26 11.17 12.27 Gender pay gap 14.1% 13.4% 11.1% Median earnings in pounds for employees working in Birmingham.

Education +General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) 2012 Birmingham (%) England (%) Pupils achieving 5+ GCSEs, A*-C 88.1 81.8 Pupils achieving 5+ GCSEs, A*-C with English and Maths 60.1 59.4 Pupils achieving no GCSEs 0.8 0.5

+Qualifications 2012 Level Birmingham (%) West Midlands (%) Great Britain (%) NVQ4 and above 27.6 27.8 34.4 NVQ3 and above 46.9 48.4 55.1 NVQ2 and above 62.9 66.6 71.8 NVQ1 and above 75.5 79.5 84.0 Other qualifications 8.6 6.9 6.3 No qualifications 15.9 13.6 9.7

Business activity

As the UK economy continues to recover from the downturn experienced in 2008–10, Birmingham has underperformed relative to other Core Cities, where a change in business stock was 1.6% compared to 3.6% for the Core Cities average. However, the underlying data showed that Birmingham had a high entrepreneurial activity with high levels of business start-ups, but this was offset by a relatively high number of business deaths. +Business Demography, 2012AreaBusiness StockBirthsDeaths5 yearsurvival rates % annual change Birmingham 1.6% 6.8% 9.3% 39.8% West Midlands 0.9% 3.9% 7.7% 40.7% Core Cities average 3.6% 6.2% 5.6% 40.6% excluding Birmingham, included Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe. One-third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made within one mile of Birmingham city centre. Until 2003, coins for circulation were manufactured in the Jewellery Quarter at the Birmingham Mint, the oldest independent mint in the world, which continues to produce commemorative coins and medals.

From manufacturing to service and research As with most of the British and English economy, manufacturing in Birmingham has declined in importance since the 1970s, and it now employs a minority of the workforce. In recent years Birmingham's economy has diversified into service industries, retailing, knowledge and tourism, which are now the main employers in the city.

Today the city's products include luxury motor vehicles, vehicle components and accessories, weapons, electrical equipment, plastics, machine tools, chemicals, food, jewellery and glass. Birmingham is home to two major car factories, MG Rover in Longbridge and Jaguar in Castle Bromwich (and Land Rovers are manufactured in neighbouring Solihull). There are also other factories like at Autodesk that are important as smaller factories.youtube channel

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