Southampton boasts a thriving
economy that covers many sectors

Invest in the South Solent region

Home to a multi-million pound cruise industry, the name of Southampton is known across the globe due to its status as a home port.

Southampton boasts a thriving economy that covers many sectors including distribution, technology and manufacturing.

In the Winchester district, the five biggest sectors are public service, knowledge and creative, land based tourism, retail and tourism. Among the biggest businesses are Zurich and the University of Winchester.

Test Valley has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Hampshire at 1.9% (2009) and an average gross annual pay of £28,480 (2007).

In Eastleigh the biggest employment sectors are Distribution (30%), Financial & business services (20%) and Public services (19%).

Transport & communications saw the biggest percentage increase during 2002 – 2007, but in absolute terms financial & business services grew most, significantly outpacing national and regional growth in this sector.

Manufacturing is declining but in Eastleigh some manufacturing sectors have continued to grow. Those that are doing well are in engineering and high tech manufacturing.

In the New Forest the highly skilled workforce of around 77,000 is expected to increase further during the next five years. Nearly 8,000 registered businesses provide employment for more than 64,000 people, ranging in size from the major petro-chemical complex at Fawley to small businesses in converted farm buildings. Unemployment is consistently below that of both Hampshire and Great Britain (Source: New Forest District Council).

The Isle of Wight has experienced GVA growth at a faster rate (4.5%) than the South East (2.95%) and the UK (2.5%). In 2006 GVA per head of population was £11,300 compared to £19,100 for the South East.

Since 2000 the Island’s economy has grown strongly with an average annual growth rate of 5.25%, outstripping the South East at 3.1%, although growth slowed in 2005. Between 2000 and 2005 the number of jobs increased by 18% (9,689) which was ahead of the South East rate of 4.9%.

The five most economically valuable sectors in 2005 were: Public Sector (25%), Manufacturing (14%), Financial & Business Services (11%), Retailing (10%) and Construction (9%) (Source: Natural Enterprise).

Tourism makes a substantial contribution to sectors such as hotels and catering, retail, transport and other services. Around 2.6 million people visit the Isle of Wight each year. The total tourism spend is estimated at around £360 million per year and tourism accounts for one in four jobs.

The Isle of Wight Economic Partnership identifies growth in:
• Creative industries-graphic design, film production, music, artists, games developers, fashion and cosmetics.
• Business services-legal specialists, marketing advisers, event management and IT support.
• High end tourism-a new generation of tourists looking for high quality short breaks is expected to result in a growing demand for boutique hotels, spa breaks, healthy eating and outdoor adventure activities.
• Marine - the island is known as a centre for the marine industry and further development of this sector is anticipated.
• Knowledge based industries-over recent years the island has attracted a growing cluster of high value, knowledge based industries. This has stimulated start-ups for smaller innovative designers and engineers and it is expected that this trend will continue (Source: Learning Opportunities).

Major sectors include:
• Aerospace
• Engineering & Technology
• Creative industries