Birmingham and neighbouring West Midlands towns and cities are lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to creating jobs and making money, new figures show.
It suggests the region has a long way to go before it can be called an "Engine for Growth" - the title the Government has started to use for the West Midlands.
A new report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the official body responsible for collecting data, has warned the economic output of the West Midlands urban area is lower than the national average.
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It looked at the area due to be part of a planned new combined authority, comprising Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Coventry.
Supporters say it will help create jobs and boost businesses while government ministers say it will help create an "Engine for Growth" or "Midlands Engine" which includes the East and West Midlands and contributes to national economic growth.
Chancellor George Osborne has warned any region hoping to sign an ambitious deal must agree to create an elected regional mayor.
The Treasury says city regions that want a deal must "submit formal, fiscally neutral proposals and an agreed geography to the Treasury by September 4".
Mr Osborne has said he hopes to ensure deals are agreed in time for the comprehensive spending review which is due to report on November 25.
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But the ONS report highlights the challenge facing the combined authority.
It looked at the economic performance of existing combined authorities in West Yorkshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, North East and proposed authorities in the West Midlands, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and the Bristol area.
The report states: "The differences in the data between the seven Midlands and northern city regions are generally quite small.
However, they all lag behind the England average across each of the key economic indicators."
And it states: "A relatively low share of residents with degree level qualifications is likely to be one contributing factor."
The findings
* Productivity in the West Midlands is below the national average, which means the region is creating less wealth than other places. On average, an hour’s work in the West Midlands creates nine tenths as much economic output – the value of goods and services produced – as an hour worked in England as a whole. To put it another, in the time the average English worker generates £10, the average West Midlands worker generates £8.96.
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* The region has too few people with high-level qualifications. Just 27 per cent of West Midlands residents aged 16 to 64 have a degree or an equivalent qualification, just over a quarter. But across England as a whole the figure is 36 per cent, while in London it is 49 per cent. Meanwhile, 15 per cent of West Midlands people have no qualification at all – more than one in seven. This is worse than the England average, which is nine per cent.
* The West Midlands has an employment rate of 64.9 per cent. This is below the England average of 72.9 per cent.
* West Midlands people have an average disposable income of £13,834 a year. The England average is £17,842 while the figure for London is £22,516. And household incomes in the West Midlands are also lower than in other similar city regions.
In Liverpool, average household disposable income is £15,140. In the North East it is £14,940, in West Yorkshire it is £14,822, in Nottingham it is £14,707, in Greater Manchester it is £14,515 and in Sheffield it is £14,345.
The figures refer to the amount of money that people in a household have available for spending or saving after income distribution measures (for example, taxes or benefits).
* House prices are below the national average in the West Midlands. While this makes homes more affordable, the Office for National Statistics says it is also a reflection of low average incomes. The median price of a house in the West Midlands is £139,000.