North Tyneside councillors have asked for deep dives into the state of the regional economy and higher education in a bid to keep talent in the North East.
The economic prosperity sub-group were shown wage and education statistics in the borough and were left with more questions than answers. The average weekly wage for the North Tyneside was calculated at £575.10, an increase from 2018 at £542.80.
Councillors noted while North Tyneside is outperforming many other regions, including Yorkshire and the Humber at £568, there are still national disparities.
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Killingworth councillor Val Jamieson said: “One thing that absolutely struck me just generally, when you look at earnings by residents we are doing well against similar council areas, but my god there is a north-south divide.
“Have we ever drilled down into that as to exactly what that is and how we can build towards that? It would be interesting to have some comparison about how that drills down."
Councillor Jamieson was informed by council officers that the London figure of £770 should be ignored, as it can skewer the national average and distort regional numbers. However, figures from outside of London still raised concern, including the East of England at £628.0 and the South East at £660.
Education statistics also raised concerns from councillors. The proportion of 16-64 year olds with a qualification of degree level or above in North Tyneside sits at 40.9%, above the North East average of 34.4%.
However, Monkseaton South councillor Martin Murphy said: “There is a stark difference between the North East 34% of people with degrees and London 58% of people. Lots of those people include people I know, who are from the North East, who had to go there.
“We need to do something to offer people the chance to stay in the region to pursue their ambitions. We need to keep those people in the region and offer a range of careers in any area they choose at a high level without automatically having to move down south.”
The act of people migrating to other areas after education to pursue better opportunities elsewhere is referred to colloquially as ‘brain drain’. Council officers told the committee they would provide more details on these issues in later group meetings.
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