Bustling London outworks Wales

Maybe Anglesey's residents are too busy enjoying the scenery

The average west Londoner is eight times more productive than the UK's least productive area, the Isle of Anglesey, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics found residents in the wealthy London area were the most economically productive members of the population.

Such residents produced a gross value added (GVA) per head of population of £66,700 in 2002 - 7.7% of the UK total.

By contrast, Anglesey dwellers produced £8,100. The UK average is £15,300.

Dynamic capital

GVA is a measure of economic production similar to that of gross domestic product, giving the total value of all goods produced by a person.

Region-by-region, London and the south east led the way - producing £170m and £134m for the economy respectively - with the north west in third place at £92m.

The figures, although for two years ago, appear to back up the image of the capital as a bustling metropolis with a dynamic economy.

Employment data from the ONS released in November 2004 showed areas in west London had very low unemployment rates - 1.4% in Richmond, 2.1% for Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth with 2.6%.

That compares to Anglesey's 3.3% rate.

Catching up?

However, the picture does vary widely as London was also the area with the widest variation of employment rates between regions. It contains areas where current jobless figures are much higher than the UK average of 4.7%.

Tower Hamlets has the worst unemployment rate in the area (5.5%), followed by Hackney (5.2%), Haringey (5.1%) and Newham (4.2%).

Even though London does lure many people on the belief that there are plenty of well paid jobs, its residents are paying the price for its success.

House prices have surged in recent years, with the average price of a home breaching the £260,000 barrier according to the Halifax, sparking a boom in lettings and forcing many people to commute to work from outside the capital.

But if house prices are any indicator of the wealth and job prospects of a region, the rest of the UK could soon be catching up.

Over recent years hotspots have sprung up in areas like Yorkshire and Cheshire and the "north-south price divide" has narrowed.

Areas such as Manchester and Newcastle have become more attractive for companies - even the government is moving hundreds of jobs out of London as part of its "regional relocation" strategy.

Areas north of the Watford gap are deemed to be cheaper and so more attractive. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown hopes to save £2bn with the relocation plan.

And the regions are not work shy either - nowhere in the north west or north east has a jobless rate above 5%.

So will the regions catch up with booming London? Only time will tell.