Derby overtakes Nottingham as fastest growing East Mids economy, says report

Derby has overtaken Nottingham to become fastest growing city economy in East Midlands, according a new report.

The UK Powerhouse report, which is produced with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), provides a quarterly estimate of GVA and job creation within 45 UK cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

The report, which is published this month, found that Derby’s economy grew by 2.3% in the 12 months to Q1 2017. Nottingham’s economy grew by 2.2% while Leicester posted annual growth of 1.9%.

The report did however find the annual rate of job creation in Nottingham was 1.4% and therefore higher than Leicester at 1.2% and Derby which boosted employment by 1.1%.

Although UK Powerhouse said the Nottingham was one of the top performers across the UK in terms of job creation during the first three months of the year, the study said Derby had benefitted from exposure to international markets.

Looking ahead to 2027, the report currently says Derby will have the fastest growing city economy across the East Midlands over the next decade with GVA increasing by 15.1%. Nottingham is economy is expected to grow by 14.7 and Leicester’s economy predicted to be 12.9% larger by Q1 2027.

Jack Coy, economist at Cebr, said: “Despite the UK-level economic slowdown over the first quarter, it is good to see some bright sparks in local economies across the country. In particular, the best performing cities have benefitted from a combination of cutting-edge, productive industries and high-skilled workforces. Once again, this quarter’s City Tracker highlights the productivity of concentrated industry hubs and the power of urban agglomerations.”

The report this time also analysed the impact of the finance insurance sector on city economies. In the report’s ‘Financial Powerhouse’ league table which is based on the latest annual figures, Leicester had grown the most across the region with a £14m growth in GVA between 2012 and 2015, representing a 27% increase.

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