Economic profile

• The East Sussex cost base is one of the most competitive in the affluent South-East Region, with earnings well below the UK and England median (see Fig. 1.) The average rental price of commercial office space in the County is very low; at less than half the average for England & Wales. (1)

• Small firms employ more than half of the workforce (2) and are key to the County’s economy.

• The business base of East Sussex is diverse (Fig. 2). There are sectoral concentrations in Manufacturing, Financial and Business Services, and Construction. Employment growth between 2000-07 is comparable to regional/UK averages (Fig. 3) and the recovery is forecast to follow regional/national rates (Fig. 4).

• High levels of entrepreneurship and self-employment (Fig. 5). East Sussex has high levels of self-employment (15%) compared to the South East region (10.5%). A higher proportion of its working age residents are self-employed than in almost all other county or unitary authorities in England.

• East Sussex is a county of natural beauty and a great place to live. Housing is relatively affordable compared with other areas in the South East (Fig. 6).

• Key facts and figures about the County can be found on East Sussex in Figures.

• The annual Focus on East Sussex brings all the figures together in one document – download from this link

1 Valuation Office Agency – figures relate to April 2008, when rateable value per sq.m. for commercial office space in East Sussex was £60 compared to £109 regionally and £121 for England.
2 Annual Business Inquiry, 2008 (60% of all employees work in businesses with less than 50 employees).