UK tech sector is key engine for job creation and growth:report

LONDON, UK: The UK technology sector has outperformed the rest of the UK private sector in terms of employment growth over the last ten years, a new joint report by KPMG and Markit reveals. The research also shows that UK tech companies are more confident about the business outlook than firms in other industry sectors, with growth expectations at tech companies well above UK private sector average, underlining the impact the sector has on the country's economic performance and the important role tech companies play in the burgeoning recovery.

Tech Monitor UK features for the first time the Tech Sector Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a new method for tracking job creation and economic growth at UK technology companies. According to the index, job hiring trends over the last ten years have consistently outpaced those of other sectors. UK tech sector job and output growth have been especially strong since the end of the recession, with larger tech companies reporting steeper employment growth than smaller tech firms.

Tudor Aw, Head of Technology at KPMG comments:

"Our new report Tech Monitor UK, the first of an ongoing series, reveals a number of key findings: importantly, it shows that the UK tech sector has generated solid rates of job creation over the last four years and that it has consistently outpaced other UK private sectors in creating jobs since the global financial crisis in 2008/09. In terms of business outlook and confidence, we can take heart that tech companies in the UK are bullish about the next 12 months. Optimism is at one of the highest levels since data was first recorded in late 2009 and also continues the trend that tech companies are consistently more upbeat regarding hiring intentions than other UK sectors."

UK tech employment clusters

The report also provides for the first time an in-depth geographical snapshot of the UK tech sector employment patterns. The research reveals that the ten local authorities with the highest proportion of tech workers are all in the South East of England and are all located close to either the M4, M3 or M25 motorways, providing easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick Airport, as well as relatively short train journeys to London. According to the research, Wokingham, home to large multinational firms in the Thames Valley Business Park and Suttons Business Park, is the number ONE technology employment cluster in the UK, followed by Rushmoor and Hart. London has the second-highest proportion of tech workers nationally, with the footprint particularly large in the boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow.

Tudor Aw comments:"Perhaps not surprisingly, our report identifies the South East as the key region for technology clusters with the top 10 tech clusters being close to the M4, M3 or M25 motorways - all providing easy access to Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. The findings of our report clearly highlight the link between investing in transport infrastructure and attracting businesses and therefore driving growth in the UK economy. "