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 Liverpool's commercial district | |
| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Population | 503,740 (2023)[1] |
| GDP | £20.3 billion (2023)[1] |
GDP per capita | £40,392 (2023)[1] |
Labour force | 232,100 / 67.5% in employment (Jan–Dec 2023)[a][2] |
Labour force by occupation | List
|
| Unemployment | 17,400 / 7.0% (Jan–Dec 2023)[c][2] |
Average gross salary | £646.40 per week (2023)[d][2] |
| External | |
| Exports | £3.2 billion (2021)[e][3] |
Export goods | £1.2 billion (2021)[f][3] |
| Imports | £3.2 billion (2021)[e][3] |
Import goods | £2.2 billion (2021)[f][3] |
Theeconomy of Liverpool encompasses a wide range of economic activity that occurs within and surrounding the city ofLiverpool, England.
With a population of over 1.3 million in itsLarger Urban Zone, and ametropolitan area population of 2,241,000, Liverpool is one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom and sits at the centre of the broaderMerseyside economic area, which is itself one of the two core economies of theNorth west of England.[4]
In 2017, theLiverpool City Region experienced the UK's highest growth[5] in real GVA, increasing by 3.3%.
In 2021, thegross value added for Liverpool was £14.29 billion andgross domestic product was £15.91 billion.[7]
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In common with much of the rest of the UK today, Liverpool's economy is dominated byservice sector industries, both public and private. In 2007, over 60% of all employment in the city was in the public administration, education, health, banking, finance and insurance sectors.[8]
The health and social care sector represents the single largest industry within Liverpool in terms of economic output, making-up 7% (£1.66m) of regionalgross value added (GVA) (December 2019 basic prices).[9] The sector is also the single largest employer, representing 16.7% (32,804 jobs) of all employment within the city in 2011.[10]
Liverpool is an important centre for public administration having offices from severalgovernment departments andnon-departmental public bodies, in addition tolocal government agencies. Agencies such asHM Passport Office,[11][12]Criminal Records Bureau,[13][14] andHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs[15][16] all have offices in the city.
The banking, finance and insurance sectors are one of the fastest growing areas of Liverpool's economy with a 5.3% increase in jobs in these areas 2006/07.[8] Major private sector service industry concerns have also invested in Liverpool especially the financial services sector withBarclays,JPMorgan,Alliance & Leicester,Royal Bank of Scotland Group and theBank of Ireland either opening or expanding their sites, a number of major call centres have opened in recent years too and the professional advice sector.
Tourism is a major factor in the economy. It is estimated that in 2018 38m visitors came to the city, an estimated 7.4% increase in numbers and a 5% increase in the number of staying visitors, up to 2.7m.[17] It is estimated that in 2017 foreign tourism brought in £358 million to the local economy.[18]The increase in tourism has led to a great increase in the provision of high quality services such as hotels, restaurants and clubs. In 2008, Liverpool city centre had 37 hotels, apart hotels and guesthouses offering a total of 3,481 bedrooms. By 2017 this figure had risen to 67 locations with 6,600 bedrooms available.[19] Several other hotels are planned to open in the next two years leading to an estimated 14% increase in the number of rooms available.[20]
Liverpool is one of the few cities in the world where cruise liners can berth in the city centre, and from 2008 a significant number of ships called atLiverpool's cruise liner terminal, including theGrand Princess and theQueen Elizabeth 2. From 2013 Liverpool was able to offer turnaround operations from the cruise liner terminal attracting cruise passengers from the north of England and the Midlands. Liverpool City Council unveiled preliminary plans for a new £50 million cruise terminal in September 2017. The new facility is intended to be built slightly further down the Mersey than the exiting terminal, at Princes Dock where the old wooden landing stage currently lies. The new terminal would be able to handle ships with up to 3,600 passengers and would include dedicated passport control as well as a cafe.[21][22] Surveying work for the new facility began in May 2018 with work expected to start in autumn of the year with an estimated completion date of 2020.[23]
Liverpool and its boroughs have a large number of sandy beaches accessible byMerseyrail, which prove popular in the summer months.
Liverpool has been a longstanding popular location for the television and film industries. The unique and diverse architecture and geography of Liverpool provides a dynamic offering for producers, including as a double for cities around the world, including New York and London,[24][25] making it the second most filmed city in the UK.[26]
The Liverpool Film Office helps to promote the city as a destination for new film productions, connecting industry with local partners to facilitate filming and stimulate investment.[27] 2019 saw filming bring an estimated £17.6m into the city's economy, with 324 productions racking up a total of 1,750 production days.[28]
In June 2018,Twickenham Studios announced plans to take 8,000 sq metres of space in theLittlewoods Pools building. They will also use two new 2,000-sq metre sound stages which are to be built next to the main building.[29]
Liverpool's main shopping area consists of numerous streets and shopping centres. Amongst the larger predominantly retail orientated streets in Liverpool city centre areChurch Street,[30]Lord Street,Bold Street andMathew Street.[31]Liverpool One opened fully in October 2008 being the redevelopment of a large part of the postcode area L1—hence the name. It is also partly built on the oldChavasse Park, but much of the park still remains.[32]
Previous to the opening of the Liverpool One complex,St. John's Shopping Centre was the largest shopping centre in Liverpool, it still remains the largest covered shopping centre in the city.
Clayton Square Shopping Centre is also located in the very centre of the city as isMetquarter, an upmarket shopping centre consisting primarily of boutique stores which opened in 2006.New Strand Shopping Centre andNew Mersey Shopping Park are two other large shopping complexes in the Liverpool Urban Area, inBootle andSpeke respectively.
Growth in the areas ofNew Media has been helped by the existence of a relatively largecomputer game development community. Sony based one of only a handful of EuropeanPlayStation research and development centres in the city, after buying out noted software publisherPsygnosis.[33] According to a 2006 issue of industry magazine 'Edge' (issue 162), the first professional quality PlayStation software developer's kits were largely programmed by Sony's Liverpool studio.
TheBaltic Triangle, an area of the city centre that used to be associated with traditional industry, is now a hub of creative and digital businesses. Based in this area are companies such as games developer MilkyTea, and entertainment journalism website Karibu.
Car-manufacturing also takes place in the city at theHalewood plant where theJaguar X-Type andLand Rover Freelander models are assembled. The X-Type ceased production in 2010 however, the new Range Rover Evoque filled the gap when production began in the Spring of 2011.
The Port of Liverpool serves as a significant contributor to economic activity in both Liverpool and the rest of the United Kingdom. Its geographical position has allowed it to become the UK's primary gateway for transatlantic commerce, with the port handling approximately 45% of trade between Britain and the United States.[34] In 2024, the port facilitated exports valued at $11.5 billion and imports worth $16.9 billion, positioning it amongst the ten largest ports in the United Kingdom by trade volume.[35]
The owner of Liverpool's port and airport, Peel Holdings, announced on 6 March 2007 that it had plans to redevelop the city's northern dock area with a scheme entitledLiverpool Waters, which may see the creation of 17,000 jobs and £5.5bn invested in the vicinity over a 50-year period. This is coupled with a sister scheme on the other side of the River Mersey, calledWirral Waters.[citation needed]
In recent years, the Port of Liverpool has seen somewhat of a revival, with both Japanese firmNYK and Danish firmMaersk Line locating their UK headquarters to the city.[36][37]
The port was expanded with the construction ofLiverpool2, a post-Panamax container terminal for ships wider than the Panama Canal locks. It is capable of handling ships carrying 13,500 containers, compared to the previous limit of 3,500.[38][39]
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