City To Create 27,500 New Jobs By 2026, Says Report

Manchester has moved into the top three of fastest growing city economies after its output overtook that of Inner London's in the second quarter of 2016, says a new report.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell’s latest UK Powerhouse report, which has been produced with the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr), provides an estimate of GVA¹ and job creation within 38 of the UK’s largest cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

In the most recent version of the report published earlier this month, Manchester moved into third position after recording an impressive 2.5% respective year-on-year rise in output in Q2 2016. Annual growth in Manchester measured in the first quarter of 2016 stood at 2.1%.

Attributing Manchester’ success to stronger growth in sectors such as business services and continued inward investment into the city, the report says the value of the city’s economy reached £16bn – up from £15.8bn in the previous quarter.

The report predicts the economy of Manchester will now grow by 15.5% by 2026 and will create 27,500 new jobs.

Highlighting the need for greater economic rebalancing, the report does however expect the economy in Manchester will continue to be outpaced by other cities in the South East with London’s economy expanding by 16.3%. By 2026, it predicts that fast growth cities in the South such as Milton Keynes and Cambridge will have grown by 22%.

Expert Opinion

“There has been a significant amount of political uncertainty over the last couple of months so it is pleasing to see that there has been a recovery of growth rates in the North West region.

“What is perhaps more significant however is the lack of progress is tackling the divide between London and the North. The Northern Powerhouse initiative has now had the backing of Theresa May and it is vital that the Government refocuses its efforts in this area and ensures economic prosperity is shared fairly.”
Niall Baker - Chairman of IM Asset Management & Partner

Irwin Mitchell produced its first UK Powerhouse report in October 2015. The report predicted a growing economic gap between the South East and the north of England and made nine policy recommendations along with a call for the government to radically rethink how it looks to rebalance the UK’s economy.

¹ GVA – Gross Value Added