Aberdeen city and shire was the most economically productive region in the UK outside of the south-east in 2013, new figures have revealed.
In Scotland, only the north-east and Edinburgh were found to have productivity levels above the UK average according to labour productivity figures produced by Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures, which the statistics agency said were “experimental”, measured gross value added (GVA) per hour worked. Both the Shetland Islands as well as Caithness & Sutherland and Ross & Cromarty (measured as one subregion) had productivity levels more than 20% below the UK average.
Inner London West had the highest productivity levels, with GVA per our worked 49% above the UK average. This is followed by Berkshire and by Inner London East
with labour productivity 33% and 32% above the UK average respectively.
ONS said the central London figures were so high that they “skewed” average figures, which resulted in only 24 out of 134 subregions across England, Scotland and Wales having figures above the UK average.
In its report, the ONS said: “Productivity matters because increasing productivity is key to increasing economic growth.
“This follows from the fact that economic output can only be increased by either increasing the amount
of inputs or by raising productivity. Increasing productivity is, therefore, an important aim for both
national and local economies.”