THE size of the North-West's economy has dropped by more than a third since the start of the coronavirus lockdown a new report reveals.

The study shows that the region's gross value added (GVA), the total worth of goods and services produced is estimated to have fallen by 37 per cent, or £279million a day, during the Covid-19 crisis restrictions..

The figures come in the UK Powerhouse report by legal and financial advisers Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economic and Business Research.

The rate of decline is slightly larger than for England as a whole and is driven by the relatively high proportion of the North West economy involved in manufacturing (12.3 per cent in comparison to 9.3 for the UK).

The report says as a result the fall in consumer demand, the sector has done particularly badly. It also concludes that the North West also has a higher than average proportion of its workforce engaged in the wholesale, retail and repair of motor vehicles which have also been badly affected.

Laura Harper, a partner at Irwin Mitchell in Manchester, said: “While manufacturing has been hit hard in the North-West, other sectors are being affected too. Retail and leisure have obviously been significantly affected, but professional and financial services along with and media and entertainment are holding their own in difficult circumstances.

“As we move to a ‘new normal’ post lockdown, different regions are going to come out of this at their own pace and tailored support in key areas could prove vital to economic recovery.

"The last election saw talk of 'levelling up' the economy and a challenging task has undoubtedly become harder given coronavirus."

She added: "The report offers an insight into what form regional support might need to look like in the North-West once we start down the road to economic recovery.”