Press Story

‘State of the North’ health check finds long term challenges for Northern Economy

By 2030…

Millennials and Generation Z will make up over 50 per cent of the Northern electorate for the first time.
Brexit will have nearly twice the impact on the North’s GDP as it will on London’s.
The North will need 2.7 million more working-age people to support its ageing population - or for people to retire later.
Over 40 per cent of all northern jobs are in occupations at high risk of being taken by robots or other types of automation.

IPPR North, the leading think-tank for the north of England will launch its annual ‘State of the North report’ on Thursday 9 November, which will recommend that the North become a “leading federal state in a world-leading federal nation”.

Government should “stop dithering” and “devolve real economic power to the North” so that its millennials are able to really take control, report author Luke Raikes will say at the launch.

The report entitled ‘State of the North 2017: The Millennial Powerhouse’ will set out that by 2030, Millennials and Generation Z will make up the majority of the electorate of the North of England. It challenges these generations to address the major issues faced by the North and the country by creating new devolved institutions.

‘State of the North 2017’ finds that key challenges are:

Brexit will have nearly twice the impact on the North’s GDP as it will on London’s.

Automation is a bigger risk for jobs in the North. The North East is the most at risk, with 47.8 per cent of jobs in high-risk occupations, followed by Yorkshire and Humberside, with 46.8 per cent of jobs in high-risk occupations.

The ageing population will require 2.7 million more working-age people or for a significant number of people to work longer.

Globalisation has created winners and losers. 2 million working-age northerners are in relatively poor households. That’s 300,000 more than in 2003/04-2005/6.

The North can lead in the fight against climate change: it produces more than one third of the UK renewables total.

Report author Luke Raikes and Senior Research Fellow at IPPR North said;

"In just over a decade the North’s millennials will make up the majority of the region’s electorate and more than two-thirds of the working-age population.

“They already clipped Theresa May’s wings in this year’s General Election and will have no qualms in condemning the government’s watered-down plans for the North or the country.

“They will inherit a number of huge challenges from the older generations. Climate change is likely to have severe effects, robots and automation could threaten their job opportunities, and they will have to pay for the care of older people who live much longer than ever before.

“They didn’t cause these problems but they will have to find the solutions.

“The North has some of the assets they need to do this, but they have been wasted and run down by central government over the last century. In this century the North’s millennials will take charge”.

The State of the North 2017 report will be launched at a roundtable event, hosted by Huddersfield University, during which northern Millennials and Generation Zs will discuss the future of the north of England, and begin to plan for the North that they will inherit.

ENDS

IPPR North is the leading think-tank for the north of England, developing bold ideas for a stronger economy and great public services to really take back control in the North. For more information, visit ippr.org/north.
For more information please contact Rosie Corrigan, Media and Campaigns Manager for IPPR North, on 0161 694 9685 or r.corrigan@ippr.org.
Millennials are those born between 1980 and 1995, whilst Generation Z were born in 1996 or later.
The report identifies the following as future challenges to northern Millennials and Generation Zs:

-Demographic Change

-Brexit: An uncertain future ahead

-Globalisation: A new wave of global growth

-Technological change: Toward ‘digital capitalism’

-The environmental imperative: Greening the economy

Find last year’s State of the North report online at: https://www.ippr.org/publications/the-state-of-the-north-2016
The Millennial North in numbers:

By 2030 …

People from the Millennial and Generation Z population groups will make up over 50 per cent of the Northern electorate.

The North will need 2.7 million more working-age people to support its ageing population - or for people to retire later.

Brexit will have nearly twice the impact on the North’s northern GDP as it will on London’s.

The North of England will create 46,000 new jobs in the digital sector as its grows by 2.8 per cent per annum.

In the meantime …

Over 40 per cent of all northern jobs are in occupations likely to be taken by robots or other types of automation.

Weekly pay for 1.1 million wholesale and retail workers in the North is £14 less than the national average.

More than half of Northern local authorities have a higher than average number of apprenticeship starts in the digital sector.

From 2005-2015, per capita carbon emissions reduced by one third in the North – faster than in any other UK region or nation.

The North is producing 28,000 GWh of renewable electricity – more than one third of the UK total.

Visitors from China spend an average of £962 per visit – three times as much visitors from the rest of the EU.