UK space industry is flying high with 38,500 jobs and strong exports
THE UK space sector is flying high with growth of 6.5 per cent per annum according to a new report from the UK Space Agency. The sector now supports £250bn of output across the economy as well as 38,522 direct jobs.
The total income of the UK space industry grew to £13.7bn in 2014/15, equivalent to 6.5 per cent of the global space economy in that year.
Exports soared to £5bn in 2014/15, or 36.4 per cent of total income and up from 31 per cent a year before.
The industry's success has been boosted by R&D and the UK tax regime.
“The UK space industry tends not to receive the recognition that it deserves. The fact is that it is a major contributor to the UK economy and is growing faster than many other sectors,” said Mark Nisbett, a partner at RSM who specialises in the space and satellite sector said.
“At a time when the Government is trying to drive productivity across the UK economy, it’s notable that the space sector has one of the most highly productive and highly skilled workforces in the country. It is also a major exporter with more than a third of total income coming from export sales – almost 30 per cent higher than in the wider UK economy.”