City workers are worth £79,500 each – more than 1.5 times the average UK employee

New study shows

The latest update of TheCityUK’s annual UK Key Facts report reveals the strong productivity of the UK-based financial and related professional services industry, with gross value added (GVA) per employee close to £79,500 – more than 1.5 times the average employee contribution of £52,000 in other sectors.

The report underlines the significant contribution the industry makes to the UK economy and provides an essential single source of information about it. As well as the latest economic statistics on industry exports, employment and taxation, the report also includes facts and data about the banking, insurance, wealth management and related professional services sectors.

Highlights:

·       UK-based financial and related professional services employ 7.3 per cent of the UK’s working population, over 2.2 million people, two thirds of whom are outside London.

·       The industry makes up 10.7 per cent of UK economy as measure by GVA, a total of £176bn in 2015.

·       Over 21 town and cities in the UK each have over 10,000 people employed in financial and related professional services.

·       As the UK’s largest exporting industry, financial and related professional services run a trade surplus of around £72bn, greater than all other exporting industries combined.

·       Financial services remain the UK’s largest tax paying sector, contributing 11.5 per cent of total UK tax receipts in 2015/16 (£71bn) – around 71 per cent of the total NHS England budget (£100bn in 2015/16).

·       The total value of payments made by cheque has fallen by around 66 per cent over the last decade to £400bn in 2016 – yet major banks’ customers used internet banking to transfer £6.4bn a week in 2014, and mobile banking apps to transfer £1.7bn a week in the same year.

·       The UK insurance industry paid out an average of £2,400 per person in the UK in 2015 in pension benefits, claims related to life insurance, accident and disability policies, and general insurance claims.

Miles Celic, chief executive, TheCityUK, said: “UK-based financial and related professional services is fundamental to a prosperous economy, both at a national and local level. The industry is a major employer providing high value, high productivity jobs right across the country. It is Britain’s biggest net exporting industry and the largest tax contributor, helping to pay for vital public services like the NHS.

“Financial and related professional services impact our daily lives, helping us to safely and securely make payments, buy a home, save for the future and manage risk. It is also a key attractor of inward investment and generates much needed export income to offset the UK’s deficit in trade in goods.”