Economy

Tees Valley contributed £18.9 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023, growing by 5.4% on the year and accounted for 302,000 jobs in 2023. The region is home to 712,900 people and contains over 17,400 business enterprises across a variety of sectors from Clean Energy to Health and Social Care.

Tees Valley has a rapidly expanding Clean Energy sector worth £1.2 billion, a globally competitive Chemical and Process sector worth £509 million, and a strong Construction sector worth £833 million. Additionally, Tees Valley’s Creative and Digital Industries add £545 million to the economy annually and the Health and Social Care sector contributes around £1.7 billion.

The region has a number of sectors containing high proportions of high productivity jobs. The local Chemical and Process sector has double the number of jobs relative to the rest of the UK and has a productivity 38% higher than the national rate. The region’s Clean Energy sector has 40% more jobs relative to the rest of the UK and a productivity 84% higher than the national rate.

Tees Valley is an area that continues to see strong economic growth, and ongoing investments in key and emerging sectors. In the financial year 2023/24 TVCA has invested £420 million into the region.

The Strategic Economic Plan for Tees Valley sets out our goals between 2016 and 2026. It is our local Industrial Strategy that includes plans to diversify and accelerate growth in the local economy to benefit businesses and residents.

Our ambition is to create 25,000 additional jobs and add an additional £2.8billion into the Tees Valley economy by 2026. We want to see Tees Valley as the demonstration region for the circular economy in England as we look to become a high-value, low-carbon, diverse and inclusive economy.

We have big ambitions and by 2040 we will see Tees Valley contribute 10% of the total GVA growth target for the Northern Powerhouse, with only 4% of the population.

A rapidly growing region: Construction, Bio-Manufacturing & Life Sciences, Clean Energy, and Advanced Manufacturing sectors are all projected to exceed 10% job growth by 2034, well above the national rates. Jobs in the Digital and Creative Industries and Health and Social Care sector are also projected to grow significantly and in excess of the national rate over the same period.

A highly innovative region: Tees Valley has the highest percentage of turnover attributable to businesses introducing products not previously offered by any of their competitors. The region is also above the English average for the percentage of businesses who are product innovators and businesses who are business process innovators.

An export intensive region: Tees Valley is home to the largest port in terms of outward tonnage in England. The region also has a significantly higher goods export ratio than the English average, 0.97 to England’s 0.59.

A region with growth potential to be unlocked: Tees Valley is third place in the UK for business expansion of existing companies and business start-up rates continue to outperform the UK average.

It is clear that the economic situation in Tees Valley is healthy, with major investments announced regularly and plenty more in the pipeline. The time is now to be a part of one of the most exciting, forward-thinking areas in the country.

Tees Valley Combined Authority is driving forward our ambitions, underpinned by a Strategic Economic Plan, Ten-Year Investment Plan and a number of strategies in our key sectors.