Centre for Cities maps out locations best for a speedy recession recovery

18th January 2010, 10:51am

New findings from the Centre for Cities have shown Greater London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool to be the most resilient when it comes to bouncing back from the economic downturn.

Cities Outlook 2010 finds that, as we move out of recession, the UK will face an uneven recovery. Already-robust city economies like Brighton are more likely to grow stronger, leaving others like Doncaster further behind.

Findings included:

Five big hitters: The turnaround of our largest cities will be critical to the national recovery. More than one in three jobs (39%) in England is based in just five cities - Greater London and the City Regions of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool.

Five to watch: Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh have the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed. They have strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship, highly educated workforces and large shares of knowledge-intensive jobs. Brighton added the highest number of private sector jobs over the past decade - an extra 20,000 jobs. Over a third of its workforce is graduate-level - and one in five of its jobs are part of the knowledge economy.

Five with a tough outlook: Other cities, such as Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley, Newport and Doncaster, with their weaker business base, have a much tougher outlook. These cities all lost private sector jobs over the pre-recession decade. Their rate of business start-up is low and many of their residents have no qualifications. Between 1998 and 2008 Stoke, for example, saw a net loss of over 20,000 private sector jobs from its economy. One in five of its population have no formal qualifications and the city has a low rate of entrepreneurship.

Dermot Finch, chief executive of the Centre for Cities, said: "We face an uneven recovery. The national economy may be emerging from recession but cities like Brighton are likely to recover more strongly than the likes of Barnsley. Party leaders need to wake up to the reality that some cities will still feel in the middle of a recession until well after the election. The next Government needs to help these struggling cities fix the basics - like improving schools and public transport so they can attract new business and jobs."

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