BRITISH PROFESSIONS TODAY: THE STATE OF ... - Property Week

3.3 Productivity
Industry productivity is measured in terms of Gross Value
Added (GVA), the contribution to the economy of each
sector and an important measure in GDP estimation. The
link between GVA and GDP can be defined as: GVA + taxes
on products – subsidies on products = GDP. The source of
sustainable GVA in a sector is the willingness of customers to
pay substantially more for the value they perceive in a
company’s products and/or services than the company paid
for the goods and services it used in creating them.
Output per employed job by sector
(£000s, current prices)
Productivity in the sector is average for the economy, both
domestically and internationally. The professional sector’s
GVA per employed job is £38,000, compared to £33,000 for
the whole economy (ABI 2006/SSDA Sector Skills Matrix
2008). Productivity in the sector was projected to grow at an
average annual rate of 2% over the period 2004-2009, the
same rate as productivity in the whole economy is projected
to grow (IER 2006/SSDA Sector Skills Matrix 2008).
Indexes comparing the UK to the EU and the US find that
productivity per worker per hour is lower for the professions
in the UK than competitor nations. Sector productivity is 83%
of EA15 levels and 80% of US levels, measured in output
(GVA) per hour worked based on purchasing power parity
(Experian 2006, Groningen Growth and Development Centre,
60 Industry database).
Agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing – 27
Manufacturing – 48
Community, social, personal service activities – 32
Health and social work – 14
Education – 2
Law, accounting, architecture and other business activities – 38
Real estate, renting, research and development – 39
Wholesale and retail trade – 32
Transport, storage and communications – 55
Hotels and restaurants – 16
Construction – 49
Electricity, gas, water supply – 187
Mining and quarrying – 362
Source: IER 2006/SSDA Sector Skills Matrix 2008
British Professions Today: The State of the Sector © Spada Limited 2009 21