Economy of Birmingham
During 2013, the West Midlands region as a whole created UK exports in goods worth £19.6 billion, around 8.73% of the national total.
[4] The wider metropolitan economy is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121.1 billion (2014 estimate, PPP).
[9] By 1961, household incomes in the West Midlands (county) were 13% above the national average,[10] exceeding even London and the South East.
[12] Major industrial plants in the city include Jaguar Land Rover in Castle Bromwich and Cadbury in Bournville, with large local producers also supporting a supply chain of precision-based small manufacturers and craft industries.
[28] 2excluding Birmingham, included Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield According to the 2012 Eurostat figures, GDP per capita (in euros) of Greater Manchester is = €27,500 just ahead of the West-Midlands with €26,600 but only half the GDP per capita of Dublin €57,200 or London with €54,200.
[36] 3excluding Birmingham, included Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield The Jewellery Quarter is the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe.
One-third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made within one mile of Birmingham city centre.
[37] As with most of the British and English economy, manufacturing in Birmingham has declined in importance since the 1970s, and it now employs a minority of the workforce.
In recent years Birmingham's economy has diversified into service industries, retailing, knowledge and tourism, which are now the main employers in the city.
The city centre currently has three major shopping centres the Bullring, Mailbox, Grand Central and the Fort in Castle Vale as well as several smaller arcades and precincts and four department stores Selfridges, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Harvey Nichols; with John Lewis opened its biggest store outside London in the city's New Street station development in 2015.
The city's designer and high-end fashion stores are mostly situated in the upmarket Mailbox shopping centre, around the Colmore Row financial district, although the Bullring has seen an influx of designer brands such as Hugo Boss, Thomas Sabo, Radley and Armani Exchange.
[54] Research at the University of Birmingham, both theoretical and practical has contributed to the success of the city and the West Midlands region and had a worldwide impact for more than a century.
[58] It is the national hub for CrossCountry, the most extensive long-distance train network in Britain,[59] and a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from London Euston, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
[61] Curzon Street railway station, currently under construction, will be the terminus for trains to the city on High Speed 2, the first phase of which will open around 2030.
[62] Birmingham and the surrounding region have a network of local and suburban railways, mostly operated by West Midlands Trains.
National Cycle Route 535 from Sutton Coldfield terminates just north of Birmingham Snow Hill railway station.
[69][70][71] In 2011, Birmingham's financial and insurance services industry was worth £2.46 billion, the 4th largest in the United Kingdom after London, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Two of the UK's largest professional service organisations, PwC and Ernst & Young, have established centres in Birmingham's central business district.
[75] Famous brands from the "city of a thousand trades" include Bird's Custard, Typhoo Tea, the Birmingham Wire Gauge, Brylcreem, Chad Valley Toys, BSA, Bakelite, Cadburys chocolate, HP Sauce, The Elite Performance Sports Company (Epic) and the MG Rover Group; although no Rover cars are set to be produced in the future, with Nanjing Automobile Group to focus on the MG cars.
