The recent third annual Tech Nation report, which shines the spotlight on the UK’s digital tech economy, has showcased Southampton as a thriving digital city. This year’s report ranks the city 4th nationally in Digital Business Concentration, and 7th nationally in Digital Tech Job Growth.
As a leader in digital innovation, Professor Dame Wendy Hall also contributed to the report. SETsquared received numerous positive mentions in relation to Southampton and other universities in the partnership.
Tech Nation is compiled using over 1000 data points, more than 2700 survey respondents from digital businesses across the country, 220 community partners, 61 tech startup case studies and 30 UK tech clusters, making this the most comprehensive study to date on the UK’s tech ecosystem.
It found the total digital economic output for Southampton to be £1.1billion, and revealed that the average digital salary in Southampton is £45,633. The full report is available to read here.
Key national findings included:
• The UK’s digital tech industry is growing at twice the rate of the rest of the economy and is key to boosting the UK’s wider economy with a contribution of £97 billion in 2015.
• The digital tech industry generated a further 85,000 jobs over the past year from 1.56 million in 2014 to 1.64 million in 2015, creating jobs at double the rate of the rest of the economy.
• Tech investment in the UK reached £6.8bn in 2016, more than two times higher than any other European country and significantly more than its closest rival, France, which secured £2.4bn.
For more information about enterprise and digital start-ups at the University, please contact Research and Innovation Services or SETsquared.
