This theme includes statistics relating to the Local and National Economy. Please use the menu links on the left hand side to access this data.

Industry

As a town that was originally marketed as a spa resort Bournemouth unsurprisingly still has a significant tourist sector.  However in more recent years the town has seen significant growth in other sectors including financial services and the public sector.  When compared with England and Wales, Bournemouth has a larger than average representation in all the above mentioned industrial sectors as well as construction.  It is under-represented compared to England and Wales in sectors including transport and communications and manufacturing. For more information, see the Annual Business Inquiry pages.

GVA

GVA is a useful measure to look at the state of the local economy.  The smallest geography that GVA data is available is for the Bournemouth and Poole area.  Between 1995 and 2005 GVA per head has grown just over 87%.  This compares with around 67% for the South West and 64% in the UK.  GVA figures also provide a broad industry breakdown which shows the sectors of the local economy responsible for driving local growth.  In Bournemouth in 2004 over 80% of the economy’s GVA is generated in the service sector, the remainder is generated by industry including manufacturing and construction.  In Bournemouth GVA generated by agriculture, forestry and fishing is negligible.

VAT

VAT registrations/de-registrations also provide a useful indicator of the state of the economy.  The latest 2006 data reveals that in Bournemouth registrations exceeded de-registrations with a net increase in VAT registered companies.  Around 12% of total VAT registered companies registered in 2006.  This compares with less than 9% in the South West.  The largest numbers of VAT registered companies are in the real estate, renting and business activity sector and the wholesale, retail and repair sector.  Business Survival rates produced by the DTI using VAT data suggest that in Bournemouth the percentage of businesses that survived four years was similar to the national figure but not as high as the South West or neighbouring Poole.

Property Prices

Despite the recent publicised slow down in the housing market, the local area statistics are not as yet showing a sustained fall in prices.  This is in part due to the time lag in publishing the district figures.  However, the local market is probably better placed than some areas to cope with the slowdown because as well as providing for local residents, there is also demand from people moving to the area including students and those relocating for work purposes.  Bournemouth’s location also makes it popular with second home owners looking for a weekend or holiday retreat.  In the period October to December 2007 the average property price in Bournemouth was £228,103 this compares with £207,928 in the same period in 2006. This represents an increase of 9.7%.  In the same quarters however the volume of sales fell from 1,449 to 1,278.

Employment Land Monitoring

An employment land monitoring report is available that also gives a detailed economic profile of the local economy.  The report also provides details on employment land sites available and the amount of land developed and its location.

Economic Bulletin

A summary of the local economy can be found in the latest Economic Bulletin (87kb PDF).  This covers GVA,  Disposable Household Income, VAT, Earnings, House Prices, Qualifications, Employment and Unemployment.