Official Statistics

Digital Sector Economic Estimates 2022 Productivity (provisional)

Published 28 March 2024

1. Introduction

Release date: 28 March 2024

Next release: TBA

Geographic coverage: United Kingdom

Time coverage: 2022

Responsible analyst: Rachel Moyce

These official statistics in development provide provisional estimates of the productivity of the digital sector for 2022, measured by gross value added (GVA) per filled job and by GVA per hour worked. 

This is the first time we have published output per hour, which has the advantage of accounting for different working patterns. We have published output per job once before, as earlier official statistics in development. These estimates should not be directly compared to the previously published ones, as the methodology has since changed and the data used to produce the older estimates has since been substantially revised.

We use current prices to report estimates for 2022.

1.1 Official statistics in development

These statistics are labelled as official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are undergoing development and will be tested with users, in line with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. These productivity estimates are designed to complement our other economic estimates and to give a deeper understanding of the economic performance of the digital sector to the UK economy. They are being published as official statistics in development because:

• they include a new measure of productivity (output per hour) and updated methodology for output per job, the measure used for DCMS and Digital sector 2019 productivity estimates, previously published.
• the methodology is still in development
• we will be seeking user feedback on the usefulness of the statistics, the suitability of the methodology used and how clearly the statistics are communicated, including explanations about quality. 

Statistics for the digital sector are presented separately as responsibility for these policy areas now sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). From April 2024, DSIT will be responsible for publishing and developing digital sector statistics, including any productivity estimates. 

Please contact DSIT with any feedback on these statistics. All feedback is welcome. In particular, please share your views on:

• the methodology and data sources used
• the presentation of these measures and explanations about the quality of the data
• suggestions for how these statistics could be further improved
• how you are using the estimates 

Please contact economicestimates@dsit.gov.uk by 24th May 2024 with any feedback.

2. Productivity in the digital sector in 2022, provisional

Provisional estimates suggest that productivity in the digital sector in 2022 is higher than the UK average in terms of both output per hour and output per job. In 2022:

• Output per hour in the digital sector was £47, compared to £40 for the UK as a whole. This means that for the digital sector compared to the UK average, fewer hours of work are needed to generate the same amount of GVA. 
• Output per job in the digital sector was £92,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK as a whole.This means that each filled job generates more GVA in the digital sector than the UK average.

The following information is worth noting:

• The figures above are measured in current prices.
• Estimates for 2022 GVA are provisional and subject to change when the National Accounts are published later in 2024.

DCMS has grouped the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes defining the digital sector into nine distinct subsectors, grouped by policy themes. We have produced estimates of output per hour by subsector:

• The highest output per hour was in the ‘information service activities’ subsector at £141 per hour.
• The lowest output per hour was in the ‘software publishing’ subsector at £22 per hour.

3 Productivity in the telecoms sector in 2022, provisional 

The telecoms sector sits entirely within the digital sector.

Provisional estimates suggest that output per hour and output per job in the telecoms sector were both higher than for the UK as a whole. The telecoms sector output per hour in 2022 was £95, compared to £40 for the UK as a whole. In terms of output per job, in 2022 telecoms sector productivity was £142,000, compared to £65,000 for the UK economy. 

4. Strengths and limitations

Strengths of these estimates

• These estimates have been developed to follow the ONS methodology as closely as possible, to aid comparability to UK national estimates.
• The output measure used is the GVA published in the digital sector annual GVA publication, giving consistency across digital sector economic estimates.
• Annual Population Survey data allows us to estimate actual hours worked, rather than usual or contracted hours.

Limitations of these estimates

• The underlying data for these estimates includes the Annual Population Survey estimates of jobs and hours worked. While this enables us to estimate actual hours worked and proportions of jobs at a 4-digit SIC level, responses are self-reported, and SIC codes may therefore be less accurate.
• The ONS productivity jobs series uses the Labour Force Survey, which has experienced falling response rates. ONS have therefore paused publication of industry level estimates of output per job. These will resume after they have analysed the impact of Labour Force Survey (LFS) reweighting. Since this publication uses the industry level estimates, the output per job measure is less robust and should be used with caution.
• Output per job estimates are based on ONS productivity jobs which differ from those used for DCMS employment estimates due to differences in the underlying data sources.

5. Further information

The accompanying data tables consist of current price estimates for output per job and output per hour worked in the digital sector and subsectors in 2022.

The sectors covered in this report are:

• Digital
• Telecoms

Following changes announced in February 2023, figures for the digital sector and telecoms are presented separately, as responsibility for these policy areas now sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Methodological information on the sector definitions, data sources, calculations of productivity and limitations of the approach can now be found in the accompanying technical report, along with. a summary of alternative economic measures of these sectors that are published elsewhere.

DCMS has developed a suite of economic estimates to understand the economic impact its sectors have on the UK economy. In combination with other economic indicators, productivity estimates help build a comprehensive picture of the UK economy, and of the DCMS and digital sectors importance within it.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

The responsible statistician for this release is Rachel Moyce. For enquiries on this release, please email evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

For general enquiries contact:

Department for Culture, Media and Sport 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ

For media enquiries contact: 020 7211 2210.

DCMS statisticians can also be followed on X via @DCMSInsight.