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Gross Value Added (GVA)

Gross Value Added (GVA) represents the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. ONS GVA is one of the most important indicators of regional economic performance and it is regularly used to demonstrate the economic activity of commercial and non-commercial organisations.

GVA is a measure of how much a sub-national or local economy produces over a given time period.

NECA = North East Combined Authority

Key Messages:

  • County Durham has historically suffered from a lower wage economy compared to national averages,
  • Productivity in the county continues to rise at a similar rate to regional and national productivity growth, while still being constrained by the relatively large number of persons of working age in the county on state benefits and low earnings (compared nationally),
  • The total value of County Durham’s economy (2023) was £12.1bn and contributed 17.6% of the North East total (£68.9bn). Across the NECA area County Durham contributed 23.2% of NECA’s total GVA of £52.2bn.
  • The total value of the County Durham economy increase by 14.8% (from £10.6bn to £12.1bn) between 2022 and 2023,
  • GVA per Head of Population in County Durham increased by 13.7%, rising to £22,779, and was 87.9% of the NECA average, 89.7% of the regional average and 62.2% of the England average,
  • GVA per Hour Worked in the county was £33.50 in 2022 and was 16.9% lower than the national average of £40.30,
  • GVA per Filled Job in the county was £51,361 in 2022, and was 18.2% lower than the national average of £62,751.

Note: Post Brexit the UK adopted new area definitions for sub-national areas.  These new areas, called UK International Territorial Levels (ITLs) have replaced the former Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) definitions.  However in the North East the boundaries have remained the same.

The following dashboard summarises the latest release of this data.

Why is it important?

GVA (Gross Value Added) represents the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. ONS GVA is one of the most important indicators of regional economic performance and it is regularly used to demonstrate the economic activity of commercial and non-commercial organisations.
 
Regional gross value added (GVA) is estimated using estimates from gross value-added income (GVA(I)) and gross value-added production (GVA(P)) to produce a balanced measure of regional GVA, known as GVA(B).  This gives users a single measure of economic activity within a region. This measure now replaces the gross value-added income (GVA(I)) measure previous reported on in these factsheets.
 
GVA is a measure of how much a sub-national or local economy produces over a given time period. ONS GVA data is released annually (during December) for the period covering the previous calendar year. Technically, it is closely related to GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the measure of how much is produced by the national economy. GVA differs from GDP in that it excludes taxes on products, for example, VAT.
 
Changes in GDP (at national level) and in GVA (at sub-national and local level) determine economic growth (or decline).
 
Note: Post Brexit the UK adopted new area definitions for sub-national areas.  These new areas, called UK International Territorial Levels (ITLs) have replaced the former Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) definitions.  However in the North East the boundaries have remained the same.

Groups most at risk

The government’s strategy for the health of the national economy relies on reducing the national deficit by a combination of economic growth and reduced government spending. However, the scale and speed of reductions in public sector expenditure has hit recovering economies and the most deprived areas hard. County Durham’s local economy is mixed, with private and public spending closely related. Whilst County Durham has many economic assets, not least its people and places; more stringent criteria for bank lending and unprecedented cuts in public spending are making economic growth more challenging.

This affects all residents in County Durham.

Links to Data