City on right tracks for growth says research
MANCHESTER was the best performing Northern city in term of Gross Value Added, but did not make the top 50-best performing locations, new data reveals.
Accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young’s research covering five years from 2009 to 2013 shows Manchester performing better than Leeds and Liverpool, with GVA growth of 7.5%, but was behind the national average of 9%
UHY Hacker Young said that Manchester’s economy is growing at a much faster rate than many of its local competitors, including Liverpool, where the GVA actually fell by 2.6% in five years, and Leeds which saw an increase of 5.6% over the same period.
The firm said Manchester’s international airport and its reputation as one of the UK’s most important economic centres is helping to attract business investment. Its growing prominence as a media hub, thanks to the growth of MediaCityUK is also standing it in good stead.
Mike Wasinski, managing partner at UHY Hacker Young in the cuity said: “The strength of Manchester’s media industry is a boon to the region but Manchester needs to attract more businesses from a range of sectors to take the final steps in its economic recovery.
“The scale of Manchester’s financial and professional services provides a large number of workers with well-paid employment, but the region cannot afford to rest on its laurels – a concerted effort to create more jobs to capitalise on the highly skilled workforce would provide a boost to the area.
According to the survey, the fastest-growing sub-regions are: Derby (+23.2%), East Derbyshire (+23%), South and West Derbyshire (+22.6%), Stoke-on-Trent (21.4%) and Walsall (19.9%).
