Local Economy
The birthplace of the industrial revolution, the region today offers a diverse and dynamic business base. High technology companies, resurgent manufacturing enterprises and internationally famous names like Cadbury, JCB and Wedgwood continue to prosper in the heart of the UK.
Some quick facts:
- The West Midlands Region is the economic heartland of Britain and creates 8% of the UK's GDP
- Manufacturing still employs more than 460,000 people in 21,000 workplaces
- The service industries employ over 1.7 million or 75% of the workforce in a range of sectors
- Birmingham is the UK's largest business and professional services sector outside London employing some 100,000 in the city
- One third of all UK publicly quoted software & computer services companies have operations in the West Midlands
- Companies like Fujitsu, Vodafone, Muller, Land Rover, JCB, Cadbury, GKN and Waterford Wedgwood all operate in our region
