Recession widens gap between UK's cities

19 January 2010

The recession has widened the gap between the UK's cities' economies, according to research from the Centre for Cities.

Categories: Local government  |  Enterprise

By Nick Howard

The body's annual Cities Outlook index highlights that cities which were already struggling prior to the economic downturn have been hit hardest, while already robust economies such as Brighton are growing stronger.

According to the data, in the past two years, the difference between the two cities with the highest and lowest number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants – Hull and Cambridge – has almost doubled.

"We face an uneven recovery. The national economy may be emerging from recession but cities like Brighton are likely to recover more strongly than the likes of Barnsley," Dermot Finch, chief executive of the Centre for Cities, said.

He added that the Government needs to wake up to the fact that some cities will still be in recession well after the next general election and more needs to be done at a local level to help attract new businesses and boost jobs in such areas.

Last week, it was reported that online job prospects in the UK as a whole lag behind our European counterparts, according to the latest Monster Employment Index.
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