Inward investment from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) created over 57,000 jobs last year, according to the latest figures.
The statistics were published by the Department for International Trade (DIT), showing that there were 1,782 new inward investment projects in 2018/19, which also safeguarded an additional 7,000 jobs in the UK.
The figures come following the news that the UK leads the way in Europe in terms of FDI, being third in the world behind only China and the US.
Regional development has played a key role in investment, with the Midlands Engine and Northern Powerhouse regions seeing a 2.6 per cent increase in FDI projects.
There was an increase in the number of jobs in the life sciences, software and oil & gas industries due to the increase in inward investment from FDI.
Dr Liam Fox MP, the International Trade Secretary, said: “Despite global economic headwinds and a competitive investment environment, the UK continues to be the number one destination for foreign direct investment in Europe, accumulating more FDI stock than Germany and France combined.
“These figures show the UK remains extremely attractive to foreign investors, particularly our European neighbours.”
The US is the UK’s main source of foreign direct investment, with Germany and India behind in terms of the number of investments made.
Figures show that there was an increase in the number of FDI projects coming from European countries, including Ireland, Netherlands and Italy, which grew by 10.4 per cent, 7.1 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.
The US continues to be the UK’s number 1 source of foreign direct investment investing in 440 projects in the UK, with Germany in 2nd place and India in 3rd place for the number of investments made.