‘Financial and creative will drive Manchester’s economy’

FINANCIAL and creative industries are expected to drive Manchester’s economic growth this year, according to research body New Economy.

Its quarterly edition of the Manchester Monitor, an analysis of current trends in the sub-regional economy, suggests that financial and professional services will produce more than 45,000 jobs within the next 10 years.

This will account for 40% of Greater Manchester’s GVA (Gross Value Added) growth which measures the value of goods and services produced in an area.  

Over the same period, the creative industries could bring an estimated 23,000 new jobs to Greater Manchester – growth of 13% – says New Economy.

Baron Frankal, director of economic strategy at New Economy, said: “Looking ahead, significant growth is expected to come from financial services and the creative industries in the next year and beyond. This is in addition to other sectors which are also expected to strengthen Greater Manchester’s economy going forward, particularly manufacturing which is estimated to increase its current GVA output by £1.3bn in the next 10 years.”         

“As always, there continues to be cause for concern, particularly with regards to employment levels in Greater Manchester and the currently stagnant housing market. Unfortunately there isn’t a one-stop solution but a continued nudge towards growth markets driven by robust policies – as is demonstrated by current efforts to boost our local textiles trade – will be positive steps in the right direction.”  

Statistics from the English Business Survey (EBS) indicate 75% of firms in the city have reported output either higher or remained the same in Q3 of 2012, compared with Q2. Looking ahead, 44% of businesses expect their output to be higher in Q4 2012 than Q3.

The job market also demonstrated a slight improvement, having shown a decline of 1,100 jobseekers allowance (JSA) claimants (-1.3%) between October and November 2012, but on an annual basis the overall number of JSA claimants is 1,600 (2%) higher than the same time in 2011.

This month’s edition of the Manchester Monitor in full: http://neweconomymanchester.com/stories/1181-manchester_monitor