Manchester Monitor reveals tough outlook
UNCERTAINTY is permeating Greater Manchester’s economy, with little good news to cheer.
This is the view of The Manchester Monitor, produced by the city’s New Economy agency, which reveals there are fewer job vacancies than the same period last year and less corporate deals.
The Monitor, which provides an analytical snapshot of the economic well being of the City Region reveal the scale of the tough climate. Job vacancy figures for March were down 8.7% year on year, despite the national economy being further out of recession than in March 2010.
This factor could impact recent falls in claimant numbers for Jobseeker’s Allowance.
This has fallen 8% year on year, but with fewer job opportunities such declines may be difficult to sustain. More positively, long-term claimant numbers have fallen by 27.3% year-on-year.
Retail spend in Greater Manchester rose 2.7% on the year, but this is lower than the 5.4% annual growth seen last month.
Dr Alexander Roy, head of research at New Economy said: “Last month we warned that business indicators showed the potential for tough times ahead. This month, the future is no more certain.
“Businesses remain unsure about future prospects – highlighted today by Reed’s vacancies index, which has shown a slowdown in jobs growth.
“Whilst many may take the recently announced GDP growth figures for Q1 2011 as a positive indicator for the economy, we cannot ignore that for the past 6 months the UK economy has, at best, flatlined.”
Baron Frankal, director of economics at New Economy added: “2011 will be a tough year – tough for businesses and tough for employees. Despite the recent fall in inflation, consumer price growth is outstripping wage growth; public sector cuts are beginning to kick in; and changes to the benefits system will mean more people are expected to find work at a time when vacancies are in short supply.
Mr Frankal said the new Airport City Enterprise Zone should help Greater Manchester’s economy to grow and create new jobs and boost trade.
