Leeds to be second fastest city for job growth post Brexit, claims new report

A new report published today has claimed that the economy of Leeds will be the second fastest for jobs growth in the first three months after the UK’s scheduled leave date from the EU.

The UK Powerhouse study, which is produced by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), has predicted that year-on-year employment growth in Q2 2019 in Leeds will be 2%.

Sheffield is in 15th position in the league table with 1.3% growth in jobs whilst York is in last place with a 0.5% reduction in employment levels.

Despite strong employment growth, Leeds’ annual GVA is forecast to fall from 2.1% in Q2 2018 to 1% in Q2 2019.

The report attribute Leeds’ strong position due to its diverse economy. The city has a large number of jobs in financial and business services and also a significant number of workers in retail, leisure and the visitor economy, construction, manufacturing and the creative and digital industries.

Paddy Sturman, partner and Head of Business Legal Services at Irwin Mitchell in Leeds, said: “These figures reveal that the departure from the EU will coincide with a slowdown in the level of economic growth in Leeds.

“However the city is expected to outperform most other cities in the study from an employment point of view, boosted partly by its knowledge-intensive business services sector and the growth of our digital tech sector.

“Leeds is an attractive place to work and live and the recent announcement by Channel 4 to move its Head Office here is testament to what the city has to offer.”

He added: “There are a wide variety of issues that are created specifically by Brexit and the economic environment that it is expected to create. It is encouraging to see that businesses are getting themselves prepared for what is around the corner, both in terms of dealing with the challenges, but also the many opportunities that will develop.”