THE ECONOMY has been at the centre of the debate between the ‘in’ and ‘out’ campaign and when you look at the numbers involved around business in Hampshire you soon realise why.
Figures from Hampshire County Council published last year show the county’s economy is worth £33.8bn, or £44.5bn if you include the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton as well.
The big numbers countinue in terms of the number of businesses and people employed. The county has 62,000 businesses and approximately 684,100 people in work.
So to Hampshire’s 1.32 million residents, what happens tomorrow (Thursday) could well be key to their livelihoods and the amount of money they have in their pockets to spend.
The county council says the following are its key sectors: Financial and professional services, ICT (information and communications technology) and digital media, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, advanced engineering and marine, energy and environment, and aerospace and defence.
The county’s closeness to London means the finances and business services sector employs 56,000 people and is worth £4.5bn.
East Hampshire has long had links to defence and aerospace through military establishments and its close proximity to Farnborough. This sector is worth £1.2bn and 17,000 jobs to the county and half of what is produced is exported to Europe.
Tourism is also key to the county, worth £2.8bn and 60,500 jobs. Queen Elizabeth Country Park between Petersfield and Clanfield is one of the county’s most popular attrations with 344,000 annual visitors. Sixty-five per cent of international visitors to the south east are from European Union countries.