The workforce in Gwynedd is among the least productive in the UK, new figures show.

Office for National Statistics figures show workers in Gwynedd contributed £26.94 GVA per hour worked in 2021 – up from £25.78 in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

GVA is the final value of the goods and services produced in an area and is used to measure contribution to the national economy.

This was among the lowest figures in the UK, meaning the area had one of the least productive workforces in the country.

The figures, which highlight the gross value added by the workforce to the economy in areas across the UK, show massive regional disparities, with the majority of the most productive workforces based in London and the greater South East area of England.

The most productive place, Rushmoor in Hampshire, generated £77.92 GVA per hour worked and was more than three times more productive than Wyre Forest in Worcestershire at £23.84.

That 17 of the 20 most productive local authorities are based in London or the greater South East, while none of the bottom 25 are from those areas, further highlights the significant economic disparity across the UK.

Policy think-tanks have said the economic divide between London and the South East and the rest of the UK "underlines how pressing the levelling up agenda should be".

Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities, said: "A key focus for the next UK Government should be to support every place to reach its potential, irrespective of where they are.

"The biggest cities outside of London, such as Birmingham and Manchester, are furthest from where they should be. It is fixing these places in particular that offers the biggest prize for the UK."

The Institute for Public Policy Research said the UK "continues to be the most regionally unbalanced large, advanced economy", adding this is not inevitable and is because of political choices.

Research fellow at the think-tank Marcus Johns said underinvestment in regions across the UK, the concentration of power in London, and under-resourced local government is "trapping us in an unequal and unproductive rut".

He added: "A serious upgrade is needed to the UK Government's levelling up agenda", including significant and long-term investment in issues such as transport and housing, as well as further devolution to enable growth and prosperity.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said levelling up is a "long-term programme of reform that sits at the heart of our ambition as a government".