Business Growth Strategy - Economic Context

The Walsall Evidence Base which accompanies this strategy sets out several socio-economic challenges to be cognisant of, and opportunities to capitalise on. 

Walsall’s 295,000 population is growing (up 8% since 2014), diverse and relatively young. Walsall experienced an 8% rise in its younger resident population while its over-65 population grew by 5% (compared to the 16% national trend).

Deprivation levels are stark, with the borough ranked 25th most deprived in England and an east-west divide in income, health, and educational attainment. Economic inactivity stands at 24%, slightly above the national average, but rises to over 30% in some western wards, with gender disparities particularly pronounced. 

Skills remain a critical barrier to growth. Between 2022 and 2024, the proportion of adults with no qualifications rose by 10%, while those qualified to Level 4+ fell by 19%, contrary to national trends. Currently, only 36% of working-age residents hold a Level 4+ qualification, compared to 45% nationally. This limits local people’s ability to access high-wage jobs and constrains Walsall’s ability to attract knowledge-intensive businesses and holds back progression pathways into higher-skilled roles. Census data shows that qualification levels also vary across different communities requiring different approaches that recognise different and complex barriers. 

Total jobs fell in key sectors that are vital for productivity growth and long-term competitiveness by 9% between 2017 and 2023, with losses concentrated in Business administration (-33%), Information & Communication (-32%), and Professional services (-23%). Walsall has headroom to accommodate more employment as job density is just 0.7 per working-age resident, compared to 1.0 nationally, and 36% of residents commute out of the borough for work, reflecting limited local opportunities. Median annual earnings for residents are ~£32.5k which is £5.5k below the national average, and real-terms wage growth has been eroded over time by inflation. 

Our business base is broad but lacks a major concentration of high-growth businesses in any one sector. The expansion of the business base has largely been driven by growth in lower-value sectors such as Construction, Transport & Storage, Retail, and Accommodation & Food Services. At the same time the number of businesses in higher-value sectors such as Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Manufacturing, Information & Communication, and Financial & Insurance Services has shrunk.

Walsall continues to be a low-productivity economy, as measured by output per hour worked and per job filled. Moreover, the productivity gap with our West Midlands neighbours has steadily widened over the past decade. Linked to this, an increasing number of Walsall residents are working in lower-paid occupations that are often more vulnerable to redundancy and business relocation. Persistent inflationary pressures and rising input costs have disproportionately affected lower-value sectors which dominate our business base. 

Despite these challenges, around 1,000 businesses in Walsall (around 8% of the total) are expected to grow by 20% in the next year and 1,600 are showing early signs of growth potential. These businesses represent an important opportunity for targeted support to accelerate their expansion. 

Walsall has benefited from a strong business birth rate in recent years and are also home to a relatively large population of young people who are entering the labour market. This provides a key opportunity to foster an enterprise culture, inspire young people to drive business growth and reshape the local economy to improve the prosperity of local residents.